Fox Sports
Updated Nov 6, 2011 6:38 PM ET
From great tragedy is coming great triumph for one former race car driver.


Italy's Alessandro Zanardi won the New York City Marathon's handcycle division Sunday with a time of 1 hour, 13 minutes and 58 seconds.

Zanardi made his handcycle racing debut in the 2007 New York city marathon, placing fourth after only four weeks of training.

Since that debut, he's also won the 2009 Venice Marathon and 2010 Rome Marathon. His goal is to compete in the 2012 Summer Paralympics for his native Italy.

Before his handcycling career, Zanardi was best known as a race car driver, competing in Formula One and CART. Ten years ago, he lost both of his legs in a horrific racing accident that ended his open-wheel racing career.

Former driver Alex Zanardi finds success at NYC Marathon - Motor News | FOX Sports on MSN

Forza Alessandro!

Gary