"He gave me back my happiness." This is how Guglielmo Capolino responds when asked what he owes to Alex Zanardi, the man he paid his last respects yesterday at the Basilica of Padua. He was there, in front of the coffin, in a circle with the other "kids" from Obiettivo3, the association for initiation to Paralympic sports founded by the former Formula 1 driver. Thanks to that project, Capolino was able to feel his heart pumping again with the effort, and the exhilaration, of launching his handbike, the bicycle you pedal with your hands, onto the road. His sport, which he chose after having to deal with what he once described as a "novelty": having to live in a wheelchair.
The accident
His ID card says "born in Sassari" 47 years ago, but he's from Cagliari. He works in the family business, specializing in building finishes. In 2006, he was in a motorcycle accident on the road connecting Cagliari to the east coast: the impact with the guardrail paralyzed him from the waist down. The recovery was long and difficult. But there was still something good: he got married and had a daughter. Something, however, was missing: sport, "the kind where when you practice it, you don't think about problems." Capolino was looking for something that wouldn't force him to depend on others when in 2019 he stumbled upon a post by Zanardi, a handbike champion, thanking his supporters.
The turning point
"I complimented him," the Cagliari native says, "and asked if he had a second-hand handbike he could sell me. A new one costs a lot, around €7,000: I was worried it wouldn't be for me and I didn't want to waste my money." There was no need. After that online chat, "I found myself in Padua, on the Obiettivo3 campus. They gave me a handbike on loan for free. And I was able to start exercising again, free." During the meeting with Zanardi, he also witnessed Zanardi's ironic wit: "He got my wife's name wrong. He apologized, saying 'I have more legs than I have a head.'"
The message
Capolino raced on that "donated" vehicle for years. He also participated in the Sardinian leg of "Obiettivo Tricolore," a relay race of Paralympic athletes that crossed Italy in 2020. It was yet another initiative by the fiery Zanardi. It was Capolino's lifeblood. That's why he boarded a plane for Padua: he wanted to be there. "We from Obiettivo3 entered the church, with Alex and his family behind us," he says, "some of us read a text on behalf of everyone." The priest, Capolino noted, "spoke a lot about Alex the man and little about Alex the athlete." Still overcome with emotion, the forty-seven-year-old is keen to send a message: "Why did it take someone like Alex to give hundreds of people a chance to get involved in Paralympic sport?" he asks, "why did a single family take on the responsibility of creating a movement, seeking sponsors, planning events, purchasing vehicles, clothing, and equipment? "There should have been a Zanardi family for every region of Italy," Capolino claims, "but instead there was one for all of Italy. It's easy to talk about an example to follow, without anyone actually following it."