Race driver Alex Zanardi, a double amputee, wins gold at Rio

Former F1 driver Alex Zanardi has defended his H5 road time-trial title 15 years after the horrific CART crash that led to both of his legs being amputated above the knee. “For a romantic guy like me this is quite special”.

He was critically injured in the American Memorial 500 Cart event in Germany on September 16, 2001.

Zanardi, who had been read the last rites, returned to racing a year and a half after the accident and competed in the world touring vehicle championship until 2009, by which time he had taken up hand-cycling.

Fisher, who grew up in the Chicago area before coming to Missoula to attend the University of Montana, had her left leg surgically amputated below the knee following a auto crash in 2002.

In Rio, where he is competing in three different events, the 49-year-old took 28m36.81s to complete the 20-kilometre course along the coastline of Pontal near Rio and beat silver medallist Stuart Tripp of Australia by 2.7s.

“Normally I don’t thank God for these type of things as I believe God has more important stuff to worry about”, Zanardi told NBC television.

“It has been a long journey, which basically started the day after the London games, when I decided that I would focus on a new horizon in my life and that this would be Rio”, Zanardi said.

“I feel very lucky, I feel my life is a never ending privilege”. He had driven sporadically in F1 between 1991 and 1994, with his only points finish coming for Team Lotus at the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix.

“Maybe, I thought, it’s time to go back and put that straight”.