Giovanni Cimurri in Hawaii alongside Ironman Alex Zanardi

Giovanni Cimurri, son of Susanna and Giorgio Cimurri, is sports marketing manager for Enervit, and has closely followed the preparation of Alex Zanardi, the 47-year-old former F1 forced to move around in a wheelchair after a tragic accident that cost him the amputation of both legs, who over the weekend managed to complete the triathlon race in Kona, Hawaii, graduating as an Ironman.

"I've been working for Enervit for four years," Giovanni explains , "and this spring, Zanardi almost jokingly accepted the invitation to participate in this race, which had come from a former racing colleague. From the joke, a challenge was born, yet another in his long career. Triathlons require enormous effort and require adequate nutritional supplementation. We carefully assessed the athlete's needs and developed a supplement plan specifically tailored for him, tailoring it for this adventure."

Giovanni Cimurri spent the last week in Hawaii with Zanardi , spending every minute of his time with the Bolognese athlete. "Those were truly intense days," he explains, "because there were so many things to take care of and finalize."

It's hard work before a race that requires the athletes to push themselves beyond their limits. "Alex did very well in the swim (he covered the 3.86 kilometers in 1:8:43), then he tackled the cycling race on his handbike, over 160 intense kilometers (completed in 6:7:51). Unfortunately, he lost some ground here, as the wind was really strong, gusting at over 70 km/h, which almost knocked him over. But he didn't give up. He then finished with the wheelchair marathon, which he completed in 2:24:50. The conditions weren't ideal: it was 40°C and incredibly humid, so much so that many athletes withdrew."

Not Zanardi. "The last 300 meters of his race were incredibly emotional for everyone. Alex ran through the tunnel of people cheering him on before crossing the finish line. Many were moved to tears as he crossed the finish line. He was as calm as he was at the start. He thanked us and then dragged us into the ocean to celebrate: a moment I'll never forget."

"I was lucky," Cimurri . "Lucky to have been able to live this incredible experience. Lucky to have been able to follow up close an extraordinary athlete and person who, upon arrival, after experiencing the incredible emotion of those last 300 meters before crossing the finish line and becoming an Ironman, was already thinking about the next challenge. He was thinking about how to improve even further. And this is perhaps the most important lesson this adventure has taught me."