Zanardi Returns to Compete in Ironman World Championship

Alex Zanardi

For the second straight year, former Indy car champion Alex Zanardi is competing in the iconic Ironman World Championship presented by GoPro at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The 1997 and '98 CART champ while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing lost both legs in a crash at Lausitzring in Germany in 2001, but that hasn't slowed the 48-year-old Italian fan favorite.

Zanardi won a paracycling gold medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London and finished 272nd overall in the 2014 Ironman using a handbike for the cycling portion and an Olympic wheelchair for the running section. The 2015 Ironman, set for Oct. 10, consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile marathon run. More than 2,300 competitors are expected.

Zanardi reunited earlier this week with Verizon IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan. The two were CART teammates with Mo Nunn Racing in 2001. Kanaan was in Hawaii training for the Ironman 70.3 Miami – a half-distance version of the full Ironman – on Oct. 25.