Padua, 5 May (LaPresse) – A long round of applause greeted the arrival of Alex Zanardi’s coffin at the Basilica of Santa Giustina, in Prato della Valle, Padua, which was packed with people paying their last respects to the Paralympic champion who died on 1 May at the age of 59. The champion’s handbike lay on the altar; the young people from the Obiettivo3 association stood in a circle around the coffin. The mass was officiated by Father Marco Pozza, chaplain of Padua prison and a close friend of Zanardi. Wreaths from Ferrari and BMW lay in the churchyard. Among those present were the Minister for Sport, Andrea Abodi; Paralympic athlete Bebe Vio with her parents; the President of the Veneto Region, Alberto Stefani; former CONI President Giovanni Malagò, Formula 1 President Stefano Domenicali, the Mayor of Bologna Matteo Lepore, the Mayor of Noventa Padovana Marcello Bano – the town where Zanardi lived with his family and which has declared a day of mourning – journalist Ivan Zazzaroni, former skier Alberto Tomba and former Governor of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia. Next to the altar, a man holds a large sign reading: “Farewell Alex, your legend will never die”.
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