Former Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi won a Paralympic gold medal on the eve of the 15-year anniversary of when he lost his legs in a motorsport crash.
The 49-year-old hand-cyclist, who won two gold medals at London 2012, finished first in the H5 road time trial in Rio on Wednesday.
The Italian needed to have both legs amputated after crashing in the American Memorial 500 Cart in 2001.
“I feel very lucky, I feel my life is a never-ending privilege,” said Zanardi.
Zanardi, who has also won eight world titles since first racing a hand bike in 2009, completed the 20k course in 28 minutes 36.81 seconds – less than three seconds quicker than silver medallist Stuart Tripp of Australia.
Story By BBC
