Indy Racer And Para-Cycling Olympic Champ Alex Zanardi Gone Too Soon

FILED - 15 September 2001, Brandenburg, Klettwitz: Italian Alex Zanardi (M, Honda Reynard) collides with Canadian Alex Tagliani (l) at the "American Memorial" on the southern Brandenburg Lausitzring. (Photo by Matthias Hiekel/picture alliance via Getty Images)

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Clash: Did you ever talk to Alex Tagliani after the accident?

Zanardi: Yes, yes, in fact I actually tried to help him get over that moment because, psychologically, I think it was harder for him than for me. He felt guilty for some reason [about hitting me]. That’s the way we are.

Sometimes you see somebody like me experiencing something so apparently devastating as losing his legs and say, “Wow, when that guy wakes up he is going to ask himself, ‘How am I going to live with no legs?’” Whereas what I really asked myself is, “How am I going to do all the things I have to do with no legs?” [laughs]. I was more concerned rather than sad or emotional over what happened.

I knew that if other people had found solutions, I could, too – it would be the same for me entering into that journey, that new challenge. As a matter of fact, the method was exactly the same as the one I developed for my sporting challenges: identify a list of priorities, put the priorities in the right order and then get on top of your problems one at a time to solve them.

Clash: Compare para-cycling to auto racing. You have been successful at both.

Zanardi: In reality, there is nothing different. You are dealing with different things, but the principles are identical. Even the way you perceive it. You go 40 kph on the cycle, and you get very similar sensations when you go 400 kph in a race car. You are chasing the limit, and that is exciting because you are risking something. You are chasing your own ability, identifying what the limit is and staying just a touch under it. That’s the name of the game.

Italy's Alessandro Zanardi after winning the men's team relay competition. The Italian team composed of Zanardi toghether with Vittorio Podestà and Luca Mazzone won the gold medal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 16 September 2016. (Photo by Mauro Ujetto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Never exaggerate, always keep everything under control, try to deliver your best possible performance, but never pass that line which will cause you to lose everything. Of course, sometimes you make mistakes. We are human beings, not perfect, but it’s been a lot of fun learning what I had to do in order to solve that equation in a different field like para-cycling.

Clash: Had you ever done competitive cycling?

Zanardi: I knew nothing in the beginning. It was like starting over again. It reminded me a lot of my go-kart days when I was a kid. In para-cycling I am a veteran with Olympic medals now, four of them, But there’s always something left in the bottom of the barrel. You can scratch.

So I’m very much looking forward to the para-cycling season to see whether I can regain competitiveness in a very competitive field. My last participation was in Rio and I came home with gold. At the end of the day, trying is the best part. Making it happen is even better.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com