Italy’s former Formula One driver and Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi has left hospital to start “a new path” towards recovery in a rehab clinic.
Zanardi, 53, suffered major brain and skull injuries in a June 19 accident during a handbike race in Tuscany.
After the crash he was operated three times and was kept in an induced coma until last week.
After his sedation was stopped, he was judged fit to be moved out of hospital because his general health parameters remained stable, the Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital in Siena said in a statement.
He was taken to “a facility for the necessary neuro rehabilitation,” hospital general manager Valtere Giovannini said.
Giovannini sent a “big hug” to Zanardi’s family, praising their “extraordinary strength” and saying this “precious gift” would be crucial “in the new path that begins today.”
Zanardi is known for his never-give-up attitude.
He switched from car racing to paracycling after losing both legs in a CART Championship crash at the German EuroSpeedway Lausitz race track in 2001.
He won four gold and two silver medals at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics and was to race at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which was delayed by a year due to the pandemic.