Alex Zanardi was an Italian car racing champion-turned-Paralympic gold medallist whose career was marked by two life-altering accidents. Zanardi was born in Bologna in 1966 to parents Dino, a plumber, and Anna, a dressmaker. He began his racing career in karts. In 2020, Zanardi was seriously injured in a handbike accident after crashing into an oncoming truck during a relay event in Tuscany. He suffered serious facial and cranial trauma in the crash and was put in a medically induced coma. Nearly 20 years earlier,
Zanardi lost his legs in an car-racing crash. Zanardi won two Cart series (Championship Auto Racing Teams) — 1997 and 1998 — in the United States before a brief return to Formula One. He returned to the US and was racing in Germany in a Cart event in 2001 when his legs were severed in a horrific accident. After the 2001 crash, Zanardi was in a coma for three days and his heart stopped at least once. Nascar driver Max Papis, who knew Zanardi from
childhood in Italy, recalled visiting his friend in hospital, where Zanardi glanced at Papis’ new shoes. “He said, ‘Look at the positive side of this. For a long time I will not have to spend money buying those’,” Papis said. During his recovery, Zanardi designed his own prosthetics — he joked that he made himself taller — and learned to walk again. He then turned his attention to hand cycling and developed into one of the most accomplished athletes in the world. He won four
gold medals and two silvers at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics, competed in the New York City Marathon and set an ironman record. When he won a paralympic race in 2012 at Britain’s Brands Hatch circuit where he had competed as a young driver, Zanardi celebrated the full-circle moment by holding his bike aloft one-handed as he sat on the track. “A good attempt always brings a result.” His spirit, will, and determination gave the beloved Italian a larger-than-life persona. When he returned to the
US in 2019 to compete for BMW at the Rolex 24 of Daytona, without his prosthetics, he was the most revered driver in a field that included F1 champion Fernando Alonso. Drivers from around the world sought out Zanardi for photographs and were transfixed as he told elaborate tales of his adventures in the nearly two decades since many had seen him. Zanardi used specially adapted cars with hand controls for gas and brake to take up racing again after the 2001 accident — and
well enough to win races in various series. Stefano Domenicali, the president and chief executive of F1, said he was “deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend”, calling Zanardi “truly an inspirational person, as a human and as an athlete”. “He faced challenges that would have stopped anyone, yet he continued to look forward, always with a smile and a stubborn determination that inspired us all. “While his loss is profoundly felt, his legacy remains strong.” Zanardi’s death at 59 came on the
same day of the year — May 1 — that fellow driver Ayrton Senna died in a crash during an F1 race in Imola in 1994. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said on X that Zanardi’s racing career and “journey from life-changing accident to Paralympics gold medallist made him one of sport’s most admired competitors and an enduring symbol of courage and determination.” Noted for his infectious smile and fanciful storytelling, Zanardi was praised by Pope Francis after his 2020 crash as an example of
strength amid adversity. Francis penned a handwritten letter of encouragement assuring Zanardi and his family of his prayers. A moment of silence was observed in Zanardi’s honour before the F1 sprint race in Miami Gardens, Florida, last month. He is survived by wife Daniela and son Niccolo. — AP
Alex Zanardi, Paralympics, Cart series, hand cycling, Ayrton Senna, FIA, Stefano Domenicali, Pope Francis, Max Papis, Rolex 24 of Daytona, Brands Hatch, Miami Gardens