“Alongside the sailing bit, there’s a lot of background work in engineering and boat building, careers that haven’t been that accessible for females so we’re really trying to push the science, technology, engineering and maths aspects to get young women and girls interested in those career paths.

“We’ve done some roadshows in schools in the UK and a big thread of the campaign is trying to push that gender equity.”

The Parkway team was co-founded by Mills and Ainslie in 2022 to fast-track promising sailors and increase diversity in the sport.

More than 300 sailors applied to take part, and 18 months of trials followed before the team was whittled down to the final dozen.

Others taking part include Anna Burnet, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and fellow Olympians Ellie Aldridge, Saskia Tidey and Freya Black.

JAI OPETAIA took 44 punches to his stomach in a brutal training routine ahead of his blockbuster bout this weekend.

The IBF cruiserweight champion, 29, is set to defend his belt against Britain’s Jack Massey in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

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Aussie Opetaia has been stepping up his preparation for the fight with intense training sessions.

In footage filmed by SunSport, the southpaw can be seen taking 44 shots to the stomach in quick succession.

Throughout the 34-second sequence, Opetaia makes no attempt to fight back or defend the blows.

The 25-0 bruiser was last in action in May against Mairis Briedis.

On that occasion he earned back his IBF title, having previously vacated the belt.

Massey, 31, will attempt to dethrone Opetaia in Saturday’s much-anticipated bout.

The Cheshire-lad spent 2022 scaffolding with his brother, before a narrow points loss to heavyweight Joseph Parker the following year got his career moving again.

In an emotional chat with SunSport, Massey recounted his experiences working alongside his dad at a brake pad factory.

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He said: “My dad has worked at the same brake pad factory for 40 years.

“When I was there he would always say to me: ‘Do you want to be stuck here like me for the rest of your life – or do you want to make something of yourself in boxing?’

“When I used to work with my brother, he would say ‘do you really want to be doing this s***?’

“They both told me I could make something of my life through boxing and that has stuck with me.

“It’s been a bit like that Matt Damon film where he is really intelligent and his mate tells him the best thing that could happen was that he drives to collect him for another day on site and Damon has gone.

“They always told me it would be offensive to them if he didn’t go on and make something of himself. And that sticks in my mind.

“The fellas on sites and in factories are the boxing fans in our country – so it means a lot and it reminds me why I do it.”

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Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is expected to be out until at least mid-November with a hamstring injury.

The Brazil international was hurt in the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday and was replaced by Vitezslav Jaros after 79 minutes.

Liverpool do not expect Alisson to be back before the next international break, which takes place 11-19 November following a round of league games.

Prior to that, the Premier League leaders face top-flight matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa, while they play RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League and Brighton in the Carabao Cup.

Caoimhin Kelleher missed the game at Palace because of illness but is expected to replace Alisson in goal.

“It is quite clear then that he [Kelleher] is the number two,” said Liverpool boss Arne Slot following the game at Selhurst Park.

“Otherwise, the last time Alisson was injured I would have played Vit, but I played Caoimhin. So Caoimhin is the number two and did really well.”

Kelleher came in for Alisson when the 32-year-old had a spell out in September, playing in a league win against Bournemouth and League Cup victory against West Ham.

Liverpool’s first game following the November international break is at Southampton on 24 November, before they then face Real Madrid, Manchester City, Newcastle United and local rivals Everton.

Some of the new elements introduced for 2026 are developments prompted by a crash for Romain Grosjean at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix which even Hollywood couldn’t have dreamt up.

On the first lap, Grosjean made contact with Daniil Kyvat’s Alpha Tauri, which pitched his Haas into a barrier at high speed, exploding on impact as the car became wedged between the metal bars of the barriers which flank a large part of every Formula 1 circuit.

It was the type of crash the sport hadn’t witnessed for decades, and one which frequently led to fatalities in the past.

Little has ever looked more gladiatorial than Grosjean rising from a huge ball of flames after squeezing between charred and twisted steel and striding across to a waiting ambulance, received by disbelieving marshals and medical staff.

“The engine split from the chassis,” says Tombazis, “which is OK as such, but in splitting it ripped the chassis apart, and so it left the fuel tank exposed, thus fuel came out and it caused a fireball.

“We were very fortunate the driver was conscious and therefore could come out.”

Tombazis then explained how the post-crash analysis process worked.

“Every car has an electronic box which logs a lot of signals,” he says.

“It logs all the G-[force] loads of the car, therefore it’s possible to calculate the trajectory of car as it was out of control and how quickly it decelerated and how hard it hit the barrier, and how it came to rest.

“This data gets analysed. In addition, the remains of the car, the chassis, gets analysed.

“Some of the subsequent analysis we did, we worked on how the engine would come off the chassis and applied further regulation to ensure that when the engine rips off, the failure points are bolts connecting the engine to the chassis and not the chassis itself.

“So now if things go as planned in similar circumstances, maybe the engine comes apart, but the chassis remains intact and the fuel tank also. So that’s one outcome of that accident.”

Grosjean, who now races for Lamborghini in the United States, credits the ‘halo’ head protection device for saving his life, after the structure around the cockpit helped to create enough space in the barrier for the Frenchman to escape.

“Without it, I wouldn’t be able to speak with you today,” said Grosjean after the crash.

There have been several clear instances where serious injury has been averted thanks to the halo and other innovations across the sport.

F1’s current quickest man – McLaren’s Lando Norris – agrees, highlighting the crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

“It can hold a number of double decker buses without breaking,” he says. “Given the speed we do, it can deflect an enormous about of things.

“We saw with Lewis and Max, where Max’s car ended on top of Lewis. If [the halo] was not there it would have been on Lewis’ head – you never want to know what the consequences might have been if we didn’t have the halo.”

CHELSEA legend Gus Poyet has recalled the sneaky Christmas party tractic he used to avoid drinking too much booze.

The former Blues star jokingly explained how he cleverly avoided “being placed in a coma for seven days” during Chelsea nights out.

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Poyet reckons he mastered the practice of safe drinking during his five years in West London between 1997 and 2001.

In fact, the Uruguayan finally held his hands up to admit that he would turn up hours late to avoid a deadly hangover.

Poyet told The Times:“For Christmas nights out in London the players would get together at two o’clock, so I would get there at seven.

“If I start at two — I’m not going to name names but the way some could drink was unbelievable.

“And the next day, they train — no problem. Me, I would be in a coma for seven days.”

When asked about his social life at Chelsea, he said: “Top. But the drinking culture — I was shocked. I remember being injured, my first night out.

“They gave me a beer and I’m holding it, I don’t know if I’m going to drink. And then they bring me another one and put it in my other hand.

“I adapted. I knew you have to give something of yourself and even if I wasn’t a big drinker I needed to be present. Part of the team.

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“So I never missed a night out, but did it my way.”

When asked about the football, Poyet said: “It was physical. I liked it. Away from home, north, it was always tough. Leeds!

“A typical question they ask me everywhere in the world is: ‘who was the toughest player you play against?’

“Well, every time you were facing Roy Keane you needed to be prepared. Because you knew he was coming.”

Poyet scored 49 goals in 145 Chelsea midfield appearances after joining as a free agent.

He joined Tottenham in May 2021 for around £2.2m and scored 14 goals in his debut season, helping Spurs reach the League Cup final where they lost 2-1 to Blackburn.

His time at Spurs was blighted by injuries after he sustained cruciate ligament damage for the second time in his career in August 2002.

After hanging up his boots in 2004, Poyet began his coaching career as assistant coach of Swindon Town.

He later managed Brighton, Sunderland, AEK Athens and the Greece national team until his contract ended in March this year.

Watch Sune Luus’s “unbelievable” caught and bowled as she removes Scotland’s Lorna Jack-Brown during the second innings of their Women’s T20 World Cup match in Dubai.

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