©Wri2
Alex Zanardi has secured his third hand-cycling gold medal in the Paralympic Games, with the former Formula One driver and CART champion winning the H5 time trial event at Rio de Janeiro.
The Italian was only third at the halfway mark of the 20km race in Brazil, but he recovered to beat Australia’s Stuart Tripp by 2.74s.
The 49-year-old had already claimed two golds at the previous Games held in London, dominating the H4 time trial and road race while also earning silver for Italy in the road team relay.
Zanardi raced in F1 for Jordan, Minardi, Lotus and Williams, taking 41 starts between 1991 and 1999. He enjoyed most of his success Stateside though, as he won the US open-wheel CART series in 1997 and 1998.
Zanardi lost both his legs in a horrific crash at the Lausitzring in 2001 when he was hit by another car at full speed. The Italian overcame this trauma and made a successful return to motorsports with BMW in the World Touring Car Championship before taking up hand-cycling in 2007.
Zanardi's third Paralympic gold comes on the eve of the 15-year anniversary of his near-fatal accident.
Chris Medland's 2016 Singapore Grand Prix preview
TECHNICAL: Under the skin of the Red Bull RB12
2017 F1 driver line-ups so far
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Max Verstappen will launch his long-awaited Nürburgring 24 Hours debut from the second row of…
Cadillac F1’s arrival on the grid in 2026 has been anything but quiet, and according…
Alpine has strengthened its growing 2026 Formula 1 project by officially welcoming former FIA head…
The 65th running of the Indy 500 held back in 1981 saw an interesting and…
Ralf Schumacher has opened up about the emotional strain he experienced during his F1 career,…
For most Formula 1 drivers, the biggest threat during a Grand Prix weekend comes on…