Alex Zanardi, auto racing champion, Paralympic gold medalist, dies at 59
Alex Zanardi nearly lost his life in a September 2001 accident, then became a Paralympic gold medalist 11 years later.
LONGFIELD, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 07: Alessandro Zanardi of Italy poses with his Gold medal after winning the Men’s Individual H 4 Road Race on day 9 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Brands Hatch on September 7, 2012 in Longfield, England. (Photo by Harry Engels/Getty Images) Getty Images Alex Zanardi, the auto racing champion who nearly died in a September 2001 crash then became a Paralympic gold medalist in 2012, has died at age 59, according to the Italian Paralympic and Olympic Committees. "The world of sport has lost one of its most brilliant figures: Alex Zanardi, who passed away at the age of 59, leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of achievement, determination, and enduring values," Italian Paralympic Committee President Marco Giunio De Sanctis wrote, according to a translation .
"A leading figure in major international motorsports, up to Formula 1, Zanardi had already demonstrated extraordinary talent, character, and ability. But it was in his second career in sport that he achieved legendary status, becoming one of the greatest athletes in Paralympic history. " On Sept.
15, 2001, Zanardi, the 1997 and 1998 CART season champion, lost control of his open-wheel car at the American Memorial (a German race renamed after Sept. 11) coming out of a pit stop. The car slid into the track among 200mph traffic and was t-boned by another car.
Zanardi lost both of his legs. A priest read his last rites. Somehow, he survived, saying later that he went 50 minutes with less than one liter of blood and that his heart stopped beating seven times.