Race driver Alex Zanardi back in intensive care
July 24, 2020
Ex-Formula One driver Alex Zanardi was readmitted to intensive care on Friday, officials said, in a setback for the Paralympic champion who suffered head trauma in a handbike accident last month.
Italian Zanardi had initially left hospital in Siena on Tuesday to proceed with his recovery at a rehabilitation center after undergoing three operations.
However, the 53-year-old has now been transferred back to an intensive care unit, this time in Milan, due to "instability," according to a statement from the hospital in Como.
"Faced with the instability of the clinical conditions of the patient Alex Zanardi, it was decided to transfer him to the intensive therapy department of the San Raffaele hospital in Milan," the statement continued.
The Italian racing star suffered serious head injuries after losing control of his handbike during a road race in Tuscany on June 19 and crashing into an oncoming truck.
From F1 to Olympic gold
Zanardi raced for Formula One teams Jordan, Minardi and Lotus in the early 1990s before moving to the CART championship in the United States where he claimed titles in 1997 and 1998.
On the back of his success stateside, he returned to F1 in 1999, racing for the Williams outfit.
However, Zanardi was involved in a motor racing accident in 2001 and had both his legs amputated.
He continued racing in modified touring cars after losing his legs, before later pivoting to handbike racing and dominating the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic games, earning four gold medals and two silvers.
He was set to compete in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo before the Games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
jsi/xx (dpa, Reuters, AFP)