Overview
- The public funeral, which filled the Basilica of Santa Giustina on Tuesday, drew about 2,000 people inside with many more outside as his wife Daniela and son Niccolò escorted the coffin.
- A wide mix of athletes and officials attended, including Bebe Vio, Alberto Tomba, CONI leaders Giovanni Malagò and Luciano Buonfiglio, and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi.
- Don Marco Pozza urged mourners not to turn the ceremony into a show and asked them to honor Zanardi by carrying his legacy into their own lives.
- Athletes from Obiettivo 3 thanked their mentor and said the group will keep helping people with disabilities get back to sport, with Tomba also pledging support for the project.
- Zanardi died Friday at 59 after losing his legs in a 2001 crash and suffering a second serious accident in 2020, and in between he became a handbike star with multiple Paralympic medals.