It was a magnificent flourish for the 45-year-old Italian (pictured above), who lost his legs and very nearly his life in 2001 after being hit in a 200 miles per hour smash during a Champ Car race.

And there was another magnificent flourish on the day from British cyclists Rachel Morris and Karen Darke (both pictured below), who crossed the line in the H1-3 handcycle road race – where Marianna Davis and Monica Bascio took gold and silver respectively for the United States – holding hands in an effort to share the bronze medal, finishing in the identical time of 1hour 43min 08sec.

The bronze medal, nothwithstanding its ownership, marked the 21st won by British cyclists at these Paralympics, surpassing the total of 20 earned four years ago in Beijing.

For a while it seemed as if the British pair's gesture of togetherness might stand, just as that of Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen had as they also crossed the line hand-in-hand to finish the first ever London Marathon in 1981 in the time of 2:11:48 – both runners now stand in history as joint champions.

But no.

The race officials were not having it, and insisted on awarding the bronze to Morris on a photofinish that showed her front wheel had crossed the line marginally ahead of that of her friend and team-mate.

"We wanted it together," said Morris in the immediate aftermath.

"We crossed the line with our hands together.

"So hopefully we'll get a medal each – that's the plan," Morris said.

"We worked so hard together, so we'll both get on the podium together."

Good try.

In the end, Darke – who became paralysed aged 21 after falling from a cliff – had to settle for having the medal draped over her neck by Morris immediately after the medal ceremony.

In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, the medallists were joined by the fourth-placed athlete in the official photocall (pictured above).

"They both rode out of their skins and we're just as proud of them," said the team's director Chris Furber.

"We were expecting a sprint finish between the two of them for the bronze and even discussing which one we each thought was going to get it.

"Then with 150m to go it became apparent what was going to happen.

"It was just a really nice moment of friendship.

"They've been through a lot together in life and in training.

"As a coach you're entirely focused on medals and achievement but sometimes it's nice to see that at times friendship can take precedence over anything else in the sport."

For Morris there was particular merit in the medal.

This athlete who suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a painful nerve condition which has led to her having both legs amputated, almost missed competing at the Games when she was hit by a car while training a few weeks ago and suffered a dislocated shoulder – and a destroyed bike.

Darke, who had already won silver in the H1-2 time trial, will now return home to Inverness to prepare for an expedition to the South Pole, having previously crossed Greenland's ice cap on skis, climbed Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and California's El Capitan, and handcycled across Japan.

Other than that, she will be taking things easy.

Ireland's Mark Rohan (pictured above, front), an inter-county Gaelic footballer who suffered serious injuries in a motorbike accident in 2001, matched Zanardi's achievement in adding the H1 road race title in the wake of victory in the road race.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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