'Human Victory': Lost Both Legs, Wrote Four Myths... Sad Death of "Most Respected Figure"

*This content was translated by AI.

Alex Zanardi, an Italian racing hero and Paralympic gold medalist who overcame two life-and-death crises to convey indomitable courage to the world, has passed away at the age of 59.

The UK media outlet 'Daily Mail' reported on the 3rd (Korean time) that "Zanardi, a former F1 driver and two-time karting champion, peacefully passed away on Friday night surrounded by his family." Zanardi became a symbol of human victory by overcoming human limits, losing both legs in a 2001 racing accident yet winning four gold medals at the Paralympics.

According to reports, Zanardi's family announced his death through a statement but did not disclose the specific cause. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, via her personal social networking service (SNS), mourned, saying, "Italy has lost a great champion and an extraordinary human being. He was a person who turned every challenge in life into a lesson of courage, strength, and dignity. He showed us all hope beyond victory and the strength to never give up."

Zanardi's career was truly eventful. After competing as an F1 driver in the early 1990s, he moved to the American karting series and won the championship for two consecutive years in 1997 and 1998.

However, in 2001, Zanardi suffered a tragic accident during a race at Germany's Lausitzring, colliding at speeds exceeding 320 km/h, which resulted in the amputation of both legs.

The tragedy was not an end but a new beginning. Zanardi designed his own prosthetic legs, relearned how to walk, and switched to handcycling, ushering in a second golden era. He won two gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, then added two more gold medals at the Rio Paralympics four years later, astonishing the world. In 2019, he competed in the Daytona 24 Hours race driving a BMW without prosthetic legs, competing alongside current stars like Fernando Alonso.

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) stated in a press release that "his journey of turning a life-altering accident into Paralympic gold medals was the most respected image in sports history and a symbol of courage." F1 President Stefano Domenicali also paid tribute to the late Zanardi, saying, "Even in the face of hardships that would have stopped anyone, Zanardi never lost his smile."

Zanardi also fell into a coma after a second major accident in 2020, when he collided with a truck during a handcycling competition. At the time, Pope Francis sent a handwritten letter of encouragement, calling him "a model of resilience in adversity."

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*This content was translated by AI.