Some people are just born to be winners.
On the eve of the 15th anniversary of a motorsport crash which cost him his legs, Alex Zanardi today (Wednesday) claimed gold in the Paralympics.
Zanardi, who is now 49, claimed first place in the hand-cycling H5 road time trials today and will add the medal to the two golds he claimed in London four years ago.
The Italian, who raced 44 times in Formula One (including for Jordan), had both of his legs amputated after crashing out at the American Memorial 500 Cart almost exactly 15 years ago.
You can view footage of his accident below. Be warned though, it's not particulaly enjoyable viewing.
https://youtu.be/KysP71KKzIc
Speaking after his win in Rio, Zanardi was in a philosophical mood.
I feel very lucky, I feel my life is a never-ending privilege. Where today you have the Olympic Stadium, on that piece of land they used to have an Indy Car circuit, which is where I won my very first pole position - for a romantic guy like me this is quite special.
Even my accident, what happened to me, became the biggest opportunity of my life. All the things I am doing today are related to my new condition.
When you find yourself in a certain situation you have to identify where you want to go and focus on what you can achieve on that given day. Whether it is a small thing or big one, step-by-step you can make things happen.
Zanardi began his hand-cycling career in 2009 and has since claimed eight world titles and finished today's 20k race less than three seconds ahead of Australia's Stuart Tipp of Australia who claimed the silver.
He will have another chance to add to his incredible legacy (and medal haul) in Thursday's road race.
