Alex Zanardi was born 60 years ago, the career and victories of a legend of Italian sport

Symbol of tenacity and resilience until the last day of his existence, Alex Zanardi still remains a point of reference for Italian sport today. Born in Bologna on 23 October 1966, he showed a visceral passion for engines from an early age. Even without great financial resources, but with a ferocious determination, he built his first kart alone together with his father. The talent can be glimpsed right from the first races, leading him to quickly climb the youth categories and attract the attention of professionals.

The big leap towards the Olympus of motorsport took place in the early nineties. Zanardi debuted in Formula 1 in 1991 with Jordan, and then competed with historic teams such as Lotus. Although the cars available are not competitive and the results struggle to reflect his real value, Alex demonstrates pure speed and determination that do not go unnoticed, earning the respect of the paddock.

The decisive turning point in his racing career came overseas, in the American CART series. Aboard the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team car, Zanardi also becomes an idol in the States. He won two consecutive world titles, in 1997 and 1998, making legendary overtaking moves that went down in racing history, such as the memorable one at the "Corkscrew" at Laguna Seca.

On September 15, 2001, Alex's life changed forever on a German circuit. During a race at the Lausitzring, after a pit stop, his car lost control, spun on the track and was hit from the side at very high speed. The impact is devastating: the body breaks in two and the Bolognese driver's legs are cleanly severed. Zanardi miraculously survives, receiving last rites on the track before a very long helicopter flight.

After an induced coma, countless surgeries and a rehabilitation that would have broken anyone, Zanardi amazes the whole world. Not only does he accept his new condition with an uncommon irony and fortitude, but he decides to go back to running. He personally designs special prostheses and controls the pedals with his hands, returning to compete and win in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) aboard a suitably modified BMW.

Not satisfied with automotive challenges, in the second half of the 2000s Alex moved towards a new discipline: paracycling. On his handbike, pushed exclusively by the strength of his arms and heart, the athlete from Emilia finds a second sporting youth. The transition is no simple therapy, but quickly turns into a global triumph, with his obsessive dedication to technical details and training leading him to compete at the world's highest levels.

The stages of London 2012 and Rio 2016 definitively consecrate Zanardi as a legend of Italian sport. Alex won a total of four gold and two silver Paralympic medals, dominating in both the time trials and team relays. The images of the rider raising his handbike to the sky at the finish line of the Brands Hatch circuit become the global symbol of human redemption and victory over disability.

Bad luck came knocking on the champion's door again on 19 June 2020. During a charity handbike relay in Pienza, Tuscany, Alex lost control of the vehicle on a bend and collided head-on with a truck. His condition immediately appears desperate due to the very serious head and facial trauma he sustained. Entire months of coma, neurosurgical operations and intensive care begin a new, painful journey of survival.

Throughout his career Zanardi has redefined the very concept of limit, demonstrating to the world that often the greatest barriers reside only in the mind and that you can always choose to transform a tragedy into an opportunity for rebirth.