Alex Zanardi may have lost both of his legs in a CART crash in 2001, but he hasn’t let that stop him from doing what he loves.
The 47-year-old Italian continues to race and win in various races around the world today, whether behind the wheel of a BMW sports car or at the 2012 London Paralympic Games where he won two gold medals.
Saturday, however, Zanardi got to add another accomplishment to his list, completing all three stages in his first ever triathlon in Hawaii.
Zanardi ranked 272nd out of 2,187 competitors after a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and 26.2-mile marathon.
Zanardi required a wet vest for the swimming portion, his handcycle for the biking portion and an Olympic wheelchair for the marathon. His times were 1:08.43 hours for the swim, 6:07.51 hours for the biking and 2:24.50 hours for the marathon, for a total time of 9:47.14 hours.
“It is fantastic and I will treasure this day in my heart for the rest of my life,” said Zanardi.
Paralympic handcycle champion Alex Zanardi crosses the finish line at the 2014 IRONMAN World Championship on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
“The last 300 meters were worth everything, they were worth being here for. I don’t know if everybody got cheered the same way, but when I passed down that narrow lane, I have never experienced anything like that. It was amazing. I was always close to crying. I am not an emotional guy for these types of things, but this was very special.”
Zanardi will be back in his BMW Z4 GT3 next week at the Blancpain Sprint Series race in Zolder, Belgium.
