Skip to content

Alex Zanardi dies aged 59

sportsMay 2, 202648833

Alex Zanardi died on May 1 at the age of 59, his family said. The Bologna-born driver competed in Formula One for five seasons, won back-to-back CART championships in 1997 and 1998, and later claimed four Paralympic gold medals in handcycling. Zanardi lost both legs in a 2001 CART crash, mounted a high-profile return to motorsport and para-cycling, and suffered a severe handcycling crash in 2020, dying nearly six years after that accident. His rare combination of top-level open-wheel success and Paralympic triumphs made him a defining figure in motorsport and para-sport, admired worldwide for resilience and advocacy for disabled athletes.

3 sources