Milan's San Raffaele hospital said
Thursday that there has been "significant progress" in the
condition of Paralympic champ and former Formula One driver
Alex Zanardi after a crash on June 19 on his handbike near
Siena
But the hospital also stressed that the overall clinical picture
was "complex" and it was not possible to give a prognosis.
The 53-year-old, who has been at the San Raffaele since July 24,
has undergone a series of operations on serious head injuries.
"Zanardi is going through sub-intensive care," said a statement.
"He has started another surgical path aimed at reconstructing
the facial cranium and he has been undergoing cognitive and
motor rehabilitation for several days".
Zanardi lost control of his handbike in wet conditions during a
training run and crashed into a lorry.
The popular four-time Paralympic champ lost his legs in a CART
crash in 2001.
Zanardi raced in F1 from 1991 to 1994 and again in 1999, placing
sixth in the 1993 Brazilian GP.
He returned to racing less than two years after the CART
accident, competing in the European Touring Car Championship in
2003-2004 and then in the World Touring Car Championship between
2005 and 2009, scoring four wins.
In addition to continuing to race cars, Zanardi took up
competition in handcycling, a form of paralympic cycling, with
the stated goal of representing Italy at the 2012 Summer
Paralympics.
In September 2011, Zanardi won his first senior international
handcycling medal, the silver medal in the H4 category time
trial at the UCI World Road Para-Cycling Championships.
In September 2012 he won gold medals at the London Paralympics
in the individual H4 time trial and the individual H4 road race,
followed by a silver medal in the mixed H1-4 team relay.
In September 2016 he won an individual gold medal in the road
time trial (H5) as well as the mixed team relay (H2-5) at the
2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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