
Racing Icon Zanardi Dies at 59, From CART Champion to Paralympic Gold
Italian racing legend Alex Zanardi, who lost both legs in a 2001 CART crash and later became a Paralympic gold-medalist with four golds across 2012 and 2016, has died at 59, his family announced. Zanardi recovered with custom prosthetics, designed his own and returned to racing with hand controls, later competing in endurance events and the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019; his resilience drew tributes from leaders including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis, with funeral arrangements still pending.


