
Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds Become Co-owners of Australia SailGP Team
The actors, who are close friends, join Olympic gold medalist and driver Tom Slingsby at the helm of a team which was rebranded the "Flying Roos".
"We're incredibly excited to set sail together in this new adventure," the Australian Jackman and Canadian-American Reynolds said in a statement.
"Hugh brings a deep love for and pride in his home country, as well as being an avid fan of sailing.
"He will also be bringing his overly clingy emotional support human along for the ride. Apologies in advance to Australia."
Jackman and Reynolds starred together last year in the blockbuster movie "Deadpool & Wolverine".
Reynolds also owns Welsh football club Wrexham along with fellow actor Rob McElhenney.
SailGP stages regattas close to shore with identical high-performance, foiling, multi-hull boats that can reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph).
It was launched in 2019 by American billionaire Larry Ellison and champion New Zealand yachtsman Russell Coutts.
Australia, skippered by Slingsby, have won three of the four editions so far.
"This is an incredible milestone for us and for our sport, having global icons Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds come on board as co-owners of our team," said Slingsby.
"They bring unmatched star power, a love for storytelling and a sharp sense of humor that fits perfectly with our team."
The new-look team will make its debut this weekend in New York, the sixth leg of the season.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Owen Farrell Summoned by Lions After Elliot Daly Ruled Out of Tour by Broken Arm
Former England captain Owen Farrell was summoned by the British and Irish Lions to replace Elliot Daly on the tour of Australia on Thursday. Daly broke his left forearm on Wednesday in the 52–12 win over the Queensland Reds in Brisbane. 'It is heartbreaking for the group that Elliot's tour is over,' Lions coach Andy Farrell said in a statement. 'He is a Lions legend who has added so much to the group on and off the field over the past few weeks and over the course of three tours. Owen will now come in and add to our options and bring his own Lions experience to the group.' Owen Farrell will join his fourth tour, having played 18 times for the Lions, including six tests across 2013, 2017, and 2021. However, he hasn't played an international since leading England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, after which he took a break from test rugby. He earned 112 England caps and is the team's all-time points record-holder. Owen Farrell also hasn't played any rugby in two months. He was concussed on May 4 while playing for Racing 92 in his last game for the French Top 14 side. He recently signed a new deal to return to his old English club Saracens.


Asharq Al-Awsat
16 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Just Frustration: Piastri Explains Radio Cursing at Alpine
McLaren's Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri said cursing at former employers Alpine over the radio at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix was just a humorous way of expressing his frustration. The Australian made a comment after having to go off track to avoid Renault-owned Alpine's Argentine driver Franco Colapinto. "Alpine still managed to find a way to (expletive) me over all these years later, huh?," he told race engineer Tom Stallard in an exchange not broadcast on television at the time. Piastri told Reuters at a McLaren fan event in London's Trafalgar Square on Wednesday that his swearing had just been spur of the moment. "It was just kind of a frustrating coincidence. My qualifying got hampered by an Alpine. I got impeded in the race by both the Alpines. So, it was kind of just a build-up of a few things," he said. "And it was more out of frustration. "I still have a lot of friends at Alpine. A lot of people that I respect a lot. "It was just kind of an ironic coincidence that the things that hampered me a bit in the weekend were all with Alpine. But, yeah -- more just me trying to express my humor and frustration in the race." Piastri joined McLaren after being named by Alpine as their driver for 2023, only for the Australian to very publicly reject the seat with a statement that has become part of Formula One lore. Then Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer questioned the driver's integrity, and threatened legal action, but McLaren won easily when the matter went to the contract recognition board. Alpine are now last in the championship, and are still going through turmoil, while McLaren won the constructors' title last year and are runaway favorites again.


Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Australian airline Qantas says customer data stolen by cybercriminal
Australian airline Qantas said Wednesday that a hacker made off with a trove of customers' personal data, including passenger names, emails, phone numbers, birth dates, and frequent flyer numbers. The company said in a statement that a cybercriminal targeted one of its call centers on Monday and gained access to a third-party customer service platform that holds records for 6 million passengers. Qantas apologized to customers and said that while it's still investigating the proportion of data stolen, 'we expect it will be significant.' However, the system that was breached did not contain credit card and passport details or other personal financial information. Frequent flyer accounts weren't compromised and security credentials were not accessed, Qantas said. Qantas, Australia's biggest airline, said there is no impact on operations or safety. 'We sincerely apologize to our customers and we recognize the uncertainty this will cause,' CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. Qantas said it has tightened up security measures and notified Australian cyber and data privacy authorities and the federal police.