An ex Formula One driver, who lost his legs
after a horrific crash in 2001, made a sensational return to Brands Hatch
yesterday winning a gold medal in Paralympics cycling.
Alex Zanardi, 45, was involved in a high-speed
crash during a Champ Car race in Germany in 2001 that sliced his car in two and
severed his legs.
Incredibly he survived and began to walk again
only months after the accident. He returned to motor racing in a specially
adapted car, later taking up road cycling to stay in shape.
Refusing to slow down: Alex Zanardi raises his handcycle
into the air after his triumph in the H4 time trial
Accident: Zanardi was involved in a high-speed crash
during a Champ Car race in Germany in 2001 that sliced his car in two and
severed his legs
And yesterday he added to his remarkable
lifestory by taking gold in the H4 handcycling time trial completing the 16-km
former Grand Prix course in 24 minutes, 50.22 seconds.
He finished more than 27 seconds ahead of
German Norbert Mosandl, with American Oscar Sanchez taking bronze.
'This is a great accomplishment, one of the
greatest of my life,' Zanardi said. 'I worked very hard to get here. It was
great to live such an experience at 45.'
‘It’s an amazing feeling, I’m really, really
happy for the result,’ Zanardi said. ‘I knew this moment would bring a little
bit of sadness as well. I would lie to you if I said I was happier than two
years ago.
True champion: Zanardi, 45, was involved in a high-speed
crash during a Champ Car race in Germany in 2001 that sliced his car in two and
severed his legs
Zanardi completed the 16-km former Grand Prix course in 24
minutes, 50.22 seconds
Worldbeaters: Alex Zanardi holds up his gold medal next to
German silver medalist Norbert Mosandl and American Oscar Sanchez who took
bronze
'When you choose the right horizon in life and
you start to be pushed by your passion, every day is a great opportunity to meet
happiness.
‘On Monday I will have to find something
different, otherwise life will become a bit boring. I will give my wife a good
week, to relax, to go shopping, to do all the women things, and then back to
business.’
Zanardi said he had only ever come second and
third at Brands Hatch in a car but revealed Jimmy Vasser, who owns an Indy500
team, had promised him a spot behind the wheel if he won gold.
‘I’ll have to call him back tonight and say,
“Hey Jimmy, here I am, I got the gold, how about the car?”’
And that celebration? ‘I’m Alex Zanardi. I have to come up with something at the end of the race. I have a little bit of a big head.’
And that celebration? ‘I’m Alex Zanardi. I have to come up with something at the end of the race. I have a little bit of a big head.’
Zanardi in action for the Williams team in 1999. He made
45 appearances in Formula One following his debut in 1993
Need for speed: Zanardi blew away the rest of the field,
with a winning margin of 27 seconds
Zanardi made 45 appearances in Formula One
following his debut in 1993 and competed at Brands Hatch when racing in F3000
early in his career, placing second, and then in the World Touring Car
Championship later, placing third.
One the day of his accident he was leading the
race when he lost control of his red Reynard-Honda in the final laps and
Canadian driver Alex Tagliani ran into him at 220 mph.
He arrived at hospital with just two pints of
blood left in his body and had to be resuscitated seven times.
He returned to racing only a year and a half
after the crash and continued in the World Touring Car championships until 2009,
by which time he had taken up handcycling.
'Three years ago I stopped motor racing, at
age 42,' he said.
Man of the moment: Zanardi's success will be one of the
stories of the Games
Determination: The 45-year-old in action on Wednesday
afternoon
'It seemed a stupid thing to do to drop
everything. It was against all odds. But it's not the first crazy thing I did in
life. In the end I was right.
'You should not chase pipedreams, but if you
have a horizon to look into, happiness is just around the corner.'
Zanardi was a former track record holder at
Brands Hatch in the Formula 3000 category but admitted the circuit was hillier
than he remembered.
Thumbs up: Zanardi salutes the crowd at Brands Hatch
'With an engine pushing me, I didn't realise
it was so hilly. It was very hard, but if I had to design a course, this is what
I would have done. It is beautiful, hard ... it suits my charcteristics of an
old man,' he said.
'When you are 40, you appreciate what you do
every day. I enjoyed every day of training. I've had a magical adventure and
this is a fantastic conclusion.'
All the Paralympic road cycling events will
take place at Brands Hatch, Kent, 20 miles south east of the Olympic
Stadium.
It began as a grass track for cycle racing in
1928. It staged the British F1 Grand Prix for the first time in 1976 and the
last time in 1986.
VIDEO: Warning - graphic. Horrific crash cost
Alex his legs
Source: Dailymail
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