Louise Sauvage
Encyclopedia
Alix Louise Sauvage OAM
(born 18 September 1973 in Perth
, Western Australia) is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer.
Sauvage is often regarded as the most renowned disabled sportswoman in Australia. She won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic
games in front of a home crowd. At the 2004 Olympic Games, she finished 3rd in the demonstration sport of Women's 1500 m wheelchair
. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics
, where she took silver in both the 400 metre and 800 metre races. She has won four Boston Marathon
s, and holds world records in the 1500m, 5000m and 4x100m and 4x400m relays. She was Australian Female Athlete of the Year in 1999, and International Female Wheelchair Athlete of the Year in 1999 and 2000.
and mother is from Leicestershire
, was born with a severe congenital spinal condition called myelodysplasia, which inhibits the function of the lower half of the body, giving limited control over the legs. In 1976 she was Perth's Telethon
Child as part of a Channel 7
fund-raiser for children with disabilities. She used calipers to help walk until she got her first wheelchair. Her myelodysplasia required her to have 21 surgical operations by the time she turned ten years old. As a preteen, Sauvage suffered with scoliosis
, and when she was 14, she had surgery to fix a curvature in her spine. This was done with steel rods. The operation was only partially successful, and as an adult, she still has a curve of roughly 49 degrees. She has not had any subsequent surgery to fix the curve in her spine because she does not have the time to get it done.
She grew up in Joondanna, Western Australia
, where she attended Hollywood Senior High School before leaving to complete a TAFE course in office and secretarial studies. Her parents encouraged her to participate in sport from a very young age. She started swimming when she was three year olds, and they enrolled her in swimming classes in order to help her build upper body strength. She started to compete in wheelchair sport at the age of eight. Prior to that, she had attempted to play school sport with her able bodied class mates but her disability made that difficult. She took up competitive wheelchair racing when she was 15. Sauvage also tried wheelchair basketball as a youngster.
When Louise first started competing in wheelchair racing, the chairs all had four wheels and were similar to the chairs that they used off the track. The chairs did not have any form of steering. The front wheels were smaller than the back wheels, and when at high speed, they were prone to wobbling. By 1997, racing wheelchairs had basically finished undergoing massive changes to improve them.
In 1990, she competed in her first international competition, the IPC World Championships
in Athletics in Assen
, Holland, where she won gold in the 100 m setting a new world record. She also won the 200 m race but was disqualified for moving out of her lane. At the Stoke Mandeville Games in England the same year, Sauvage took gold in the 100 m, 200 m, 400m, and two relays.
In 1992, she represented Australia at the Barcelona Paralympic Games
, where she won two golds in the 200 m and 400 m and a silver in the 800 m. In recognition of her athletic feats she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal. Sauvage was in danger of not going to the 1992 Paralympics because of funding issues for the Australian Paralympic Federation
. The Federation made an emergency appeal for funding from the public in order to cover the cost of transporting the Australian team to Barcelona. The Federation found funding through a variety of small donations that allowed Sauvage and other Australian athletes to compete.
Prior to the start of the 1992 Summer Paralympics
, Sauvage held Australian records for the 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m and marathon in women's wheelchair racing events. She was being marketed by the Australian Paralympic Federation as Australia's top female wheelchair road racer.
1993 was her first year on the international wheelchair racing circuit, competing in the US and Europe. It was also the year that she got her first kneeling wheelchair. The pinnacle being the world-famous Boston Marathon
where she recorded her first victory, in the women's wheelchair division, in 1997, breaking the stranglehold of the 'Queen of Boston', US racer Jean Driscoll
. Sauvage went on to win a further three Boston titles in 1998, 1999 and 2001. Louise has also competed at marathons held in Los Angeles and Honolulu. She has won the Los Angeles Marathon
, Honolulu Marathon
and Berlin Marathon
.
From 1993 to 2000, Sauvage won every IAAF wheelchair demonstration event. In that same period, she also won the demonstration events for wheelchair racing in the 800 meter race at the Olympic games. The 800 meter event does not require that athletes stay in their lanes after the first turn. For this reason, athletes like Sauvage are required to wear helmets when racing. In 2000, Sauvage won the Olympic demonstration event and was expected to win the Paralympic gold. She was upset by Canadian Chantal Petitclerc
. The Australian delegation appealed the result, claiming the race was not fair because another racer, Ireland's Patrice Dockery, was disqualified for leaving her lane too early. The appeal was rejected, because Dockery was too far behind the front runners to impact the results. Sport academics who research the Paralympic games consider this protest to be pivotal, because it shows the passion of athletes to win and the extent that sports people will go to claim gold. It also highlighted that the rivalries in the sport were real. Petitclerc said of her rivalry with Sauvage that "I dream more about Louise than I do my boyfriend." In 2002, Petitclerc beat Sauvage again at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
, where the 800 meter event was a full medal event at the games for the first time. It was only the second time that Sauvage had lost to Petitclerc.
Sauvage won gold medals at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2001.
In 1995, Sauvage won the Gasparilla 15 km road race. The event was held in Florida. That same year, she came in second at the Los Angeles Marathon
and second at the Lilac Bloomsday 12k. At the Boston Marathon, Sauvage suffered a tire puncture. She finished fourth.
In January 1996, Sauvage won the women's wheelchair event at the OzDay 10k International Road Race, an event that is staged in Sydney's Rocks District.
In February 1996, Sauvage won the women's wheelchair event at the Gasparilla 15k Road Race, held in Tampa, Florida
.
In 1996, Sauvage won the Beppu-Ōita Marathon
. In 1997, she won the Summer Down Under race in Sydney, the International Wheelchair Road & Track Series sprint, distance and overall categories, the Newcastle Bicentennial 15K Road Road Race in Newcastle, the Waitangi Day Road Race in New Zealand, the Los Angeles Marathon, the Boston Marathon, the Atrium Classic race in Darwin, the Piedmont 10 Mile Criterium race in the United States, the Americas Series, USA/Canda, the Peachtree 10K in the United States, the IAAF World Athletcs Championships in the 800m event in Athens, the World 10K Championship Race in the United States, and the Berlin Marathon in Germany.
Sauavage qualified for the 1996 Summer Paralympics
in June in the exhibition wheelchair track events in the 800ms.
In 1996, Sauvage won the 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m events at the 1996 Summer Paralympics
. She won these while having an injured wrist. She set world records in the 1500m and 5000m events during these games. Sauvage won the 5000m and the 400m golds only an hour apart.
At the 2000 Summer Paralympics
in Sydney, she lit the cauldron during the opening ceremonies for the games. In 2004, Sauvage carried the Australian flag into the stadium at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
.
Frank Ponta
was one of Sauvage's coaches during her competitive career.
. Sauavage's coaching helped Ballard win gold 400m and silver in the 100m, 200m, 800m and 1500m at the Summer Down Under Series in 2005.
Sauvage was a national team coach for the Australian wheelchair track and road team. She retired as a coach for the national side in 2005. In 2005, Sauvage was involved as a coach for wheelchair track and road racing for Australia at the 2005 Canberra INAS-FID World Athletics Championships.
Athlete of the year in 1997. In 1998, she was a winner of the Australian of the Year Awards in the ABIGGRIUOP National Sports Award category. In 1999, Suavage was named the Female Athlete of the Year in the Sport Australia Awards. In 2000, She was named the "World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" at the first Laureus Sports Awards held in Monte Carlo
In 1999 and 2000, she was named the International Female Athlete of the Year.
) has been named in her honour in 2001. The Louise Sauvage Pathway
, a 6.3 km wheelchair-accessible bicycle and walking path within Sydney Olympic Park, is also named in her honour. Suavage and NSW Treasurer Michael Egan christened the park on 6 March 2003. During her retirement from being an athlete, Sauvage created a consulting company that she works for.
In 2010, Sauvage was a speaker at the IPC Women in Sport Summit. She spoke alongside Amy Winters
and Jayme Paris
.
In February 2011, Sauvage participated in the Charter Hall Malabar Magic Ocean Swim. The event was created to raise funds for Rainbow Club. It was Sauvage's first ocean swim. She finished the 1 km race in 25:19.
during 2006 to drop a requirement that people in wheelchairs be accompanied by a carer if they wish to ride on a Virgin Blue aircraft. Previously, both athletes had tried to lobby Qantas
to lift a limit of only two electric wheelchairs on domestic flights flying on Boeing 737s. The pair were ineffective because the change would have required a change in law, not in airline policy. Louise Savage and Paul Nunnar did receive an invitation to help train Qantas staff and help make staff more aware of the needs of the disabled.
.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 18 September 1973 in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia) is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer.
Sauvage is often regarded as the most renowned disabled sportswoman in Australia. She won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic
2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...
games in front of a home crowd. At the 2004 Olympic Games, she finished 3rd in the demonstration sport of Women's 1500 m wheelchair
Wheelchair racing at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Wheelchair racing at the 2004 Summer Olympics was featured as two demonstration events as part of the Athletics programme at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 22, 2004. Medals were not awarded, as the sport was not part of the official competition....
. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
, where she took silver in both the 400 metre and 800 metre races. She has won four Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
s, and holds world records in the 1500m, 5000m and 4x100m and 4x400m relays. She was Australian Female Athlete of the Year in 1999, and International Female Wheelchair Athlete of the Year in 1999 and 2000.
Early life
Sauvage, whose father is from the SeychellesSeychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
and mother is from Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, was born with a severe congenital spinal condition called myelodysplasia, which inhibits the function of the lower half of the body, giving limited control over the legs. In 1976 she was Perth's Telethon
Channel Seven Perth Telethon
The Channel Seven Perth Telethon, known simply as Telethon, is an annual telethon produced by TVW, a Seven Network owned television station in Perth, Western Australia for two main beneficiaries; Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, plus...
Child as part of a Channel 7
TVW
TVW can mean:*TVW, a Seven Network owned station in Perth, Western Australia*TVW, a public affairs network in the state of Washington*"tvw", the false branding callsign of WISC-TV's digital subchannel and Madison, Wisconsin's MyNetworkTV affiliate...
fund-raiser for children with disabilities. She used calipers to help walk until she got her first wheelchair. Her myelodysplasia required her to have 21 surgical operations by the time she turned ten years old. As a preteen, Sauvage suffered with scoliosis
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line...
, and when she was 14, she had surgery to fix a curvature in her spine. This was done with steel rods. The operation was only partially successful, and as an adult, she still has a curve of roughly 49 degrees. She has not had any subsequent surgery to fix the curve in her spine because she does not have the time to get it done.
She grew up in Joondanna, Western Australia
Joondanna, Western Australia
Joondanna is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.There is a Catholic church, St. Denis, in Joondanna, and a small Catholic primary school of the same name....
, where she attended Hollywood Senior High School before leaving to complete a TAFE course in office and secretarial studies. Her parents encouraged her to participate in sport from a very young age. She started swimming when she was three year olds, and they enrolled her in swimming classes in order to help her build upper body strength. She started to compete in wheelchair sport at the age of eight. Prior to that, she had attempted to play school sport with her able bodied class mates but her disability made that difficult. She took up competitive wheelchair racing when she was 15. Sauvage also tried wheelchair basketball as a youngster.
Competitive athletic career
From 10 years of age to 13 years of age, Sauvage represented Western Australia in the national swim championships. She was forced to retire from swimming when she turned 14, because of surgery.When Louise first started competing in wheelchair racing, the chairs all had four wheels and were similar to the chairs that they used off the track. The chairs did not have any form of steering. The front wheels were smaller than the back wheels, and when at high speed, they were prone to wobbling. By 1997, racing wheelchairs had basically finished undergoing massive changes to improve them.
In 1990, she competed in her first international competition, the IPC World Championships
IPC World Championships
There are a number of IPC World Championships. They are supervised and co-ordinated by the International Paralympic Committee .*IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships*IPC Athletics World Championships...
in Athletics in Assen
Assen
Assen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run...
, Holland, where she won gold in the 100 m setting a new world record. She also won the 200 m race but was disqualified for moving out of her lane. At the Stoke Mandeville Games in England the same year, Sauvage took gold in the 100 m, 200 m, 400m, and two relays.
In 1992, she represented Australia at the Barcelona Paralympic Games
1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...
, where she won two golds in the 200 m and 400 m and a silver in the 800 m. In recognition of her athletic feats she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal. Sauvage was in danger of not going to the 1992 Paralympics because of funding issues for the Australian Paralympic Federation
Australian Paralympic Committee
The Australian Paralympic Committee is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the means by which Australia participates at the Summer Paralympics and the Winter Paralympics.-History:...
. The Federation made an emergency appeal for funding from the public in order to cover the cost of transporting the Australian team to Barcelona. The Federation found funding through a variety of small donations that allowed Sauvage and other Australian athletes to compete.
Prior to the start of the 1992 Summer Paralympics
1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...
, Sauvage held Australian records for the 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m and marathon in women's wheelchair racing events. She was being marketed by the Australian Paralympic Federation as Australia's top female wheelchair road racer.
1993 was her first year on the international wheelchair racing circuit, competing in the US and Europe. It was also the year that she got her first kneeling wheelchair. The pinnacle being the world-famous Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
where she recorded her first victory, in the women's wheelchair division, in 1997, breaking the stranglehold of the 'Queen of Boston', US racer Jean Driscoll
Jean Driscoll
Jean Driscoll is an American wheelchair racer. She won the women's wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon eight times, more than any other female athlete in any division. Her wins in Boston included seven consecutive first place finishes from 1990 to 1996...
. Sauvage went on to win a further three Boston titles in 1998, 1999 and 2001. Louise has also competed at marathons held in Los Angeles and Honolulu. She has won the Los Angeles Marathon
Los Angeles Marathon
The Honda LA Marathon is an annual running event held each spring in Los Angeles, California. The 26.219 mile footrace, inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, has been contested every year since 1986...
, Honolulu Marathon
Honolulu Marathon
The Honolulu Marathon is one of the world's largest marathons. It takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the second Sunday in December. - History :...
and Berlin Marathon
Berlin Marathon
The Berlin Marathon is a major running and sporting event held annually in Berlin, Germany. The official marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers is set up as a city-wide road race where professional athletes and amateur runners jointly participate...
.
From 1993 to 2000, Sauvage won every IAAF wheelchair demonstration event. In that same period, she also won the demonstration events for wheelchair racing in the 800 meter race at the Olympic games. The 800 meter event does not require that athletes stay in their lanes after the first turn. For this reason, athletes like Sauvage are required to wear helmets when racing. In 2000, Sauvage won the Olympic demonstration event and was expected to win the Paralympic gold. She was upset by Canadian Chantal Petitclerc
Chantal Petitclerc
Chantal Petitclerc, CC is a Canadian wheelchair racer.At the age of thirteen, she lost the use of both legs when a heavy barn door fell on her...
. The Australian delegation appealed the result, claiming the race was not fair because another racer, Ireland's Patrice Dockery, was disqualified for leaving her lane too early. The appeal was rejected, because Dockery was too far behind the front runners to impact the results. Sport academics who research the Paralympic games consider this protest to be pivotal, because it shows the passion of athletes to win and the extent that sports people will go to claim gold. It also highlighted that the rivalries in the sport were real. Petitclerc said of her rivalry with Sauvage that "I dream more about Louise than I do my boyfriend." In 2002, Petitclerc beat Sauvage again at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
, where the 800 meter event was a full medal event at the games for the first time. It was only the second time that Sauvage had lost to Petitclerc.
Sauvage won gold medals at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2001.
In 1995, Sauvage won the Gasparilla 15 km road race. The event was held in Florida. That same year, she came in second at the Los Angeles Marathon
Los Angeles Marathon
The Honda LA Marathon is an annual running event held each spring in Los Angeles, California. The 26.219 mile footrace, inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, has been contested every year since 1986...
and second at the Lilac Bloomsday 12k. At the Boston Marathon, Sauvage suffered a tire puncture. She finished fourth.
In January 1996, Sauvage won the women's wheelchair event at the OzDay 10k International Road Race, an event that is staged in Sydney's Rocks District.
In February 1996, Sauvage won the women's wheelchair event at the Gasparilla 15k Road Race, held in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
.
In 1996, Sauvage won the Beppu-Ōita Marathon
Beppu-Ōita Marathon
The ' is an annual men's marathon race that takes place every February between the cities of Beppu and Ōita on the island of Kyushu in Japan. First held in 1952 as a 35 km race, the looped marathon course begins at the bottom of Takasaki Mountain and reaches Beppu's Kankoko International Port...
. In 1997, she won the Summer Down Under race in Sydney, the International Wheelchair Road & Track Series sprint, distance and overall categories, the Newcastle Bicentennial 15K Road Road Race in Newcastle, the Waitangi Day Road Race in New Zealand, the Los Angeles Marathon, the Boston Marathon, the Atrium Classic race in Darwin, the Piedmont 10 Mile Criterium race in the United States, the Americas Series, USA/Canda, the Peachtree 10K in the United States, the IAAF World Athletcs Championships in the 800m event in Athens, the World 10K Championship Race in the United States, and the Berlin Marathon in Germany.
Sauavage qualified for the 1996 Summer Paralympics
1996 Summer Paralympics
The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA were held from 16 August to 25 August. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million....
in June in the exhibition wheelchair track events in the 800ms.
In 1996, Sauvage won the 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m events at the 1996 Summer Paralympics
1996 Summer Paralympics
The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA were held from 16 August to 25 August. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million....
. She won these while having an injured wrist. She set world records in the 1500m and 5000m events during these games. Sauvage won the 5000m and the 400m golds only an hour apart.
At the 2000 Summer Paralympics
2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...
in Sydney, she lit the cauldron during the opening ceremonies for the games. In 2004, Sauvage carried the Australian flag into the stadium at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
.
| Days | Year | Event | Location | Distance | Finish | Time | Record | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14–25 July | 1990 | IPC World Championships in Athletics | Assen, Holland | 100m | First | World | ||
| 1990 | Stoke Mandeville World Wheelchair Games | Aylesbury, United Kingdom | 100m | First | World | |||
| 1991 | Stoke Mandeville World Wheelchair Games | Aylesbury, United Kingdom | 100m | First | World | |||
| 1991 | Stoke Mandeville World Wheelchair Games | Aylesbury, United Kingdom | 200m | Third | ||||
| 25-Jan | 1991 | Oz Day 10K | Sydney, Australia | 10 km | First Junior Woman | Australian | ||
| 1991 | 10th International Bloemen Marathon | Bloemen, Holland | 8-day stage race | Third (team) | ||||
| January | 1992 | VicHealth International Track Meet | Melbourne, Victoria | 400m (demo) | First | |||
| April | 1992 | National Wheelchair Games | Adelaide, South Australia | 100m | First | Australian | ||
| April | 1992 | National Wheelchair Games | Adelaide, South Australia | 200m | First | Australian | ||
| April | 1992 | National Wheelchair Games | Adelaide, South Australia | 400m | First | Australian | ||
| April | 1992 | National Wheelchair Games | Adelaide, South Australia | 800m | First | Australian | ||
| August | 1992 | Swiss National Championships | Zug, Switzerland | 100m | First | 16.75 | World | |
| August | 1992 | Swiss National Championships | Zug, Switzerland | 200m | First | |||
| August | 1992 | Swiss National Championships | Zug, Switzerland | 400m | First | |||
| August | 1992 | Swiss National Championships | Zug, Switzerland | 800m | First | |||
| 3–14 September | 1992 | Paralympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 100m | First | 17.37 | Paralympic | |
| 3–14 September | 1992 | Paralympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 200m | First | 29.03 | World | |
| 3–14 September | 1992 | Paralympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 400m | First | 56.71 | Australian | |
| 3–14 September | 1992 | Paralympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 800m | Second | 01:54.9 | Australian | |
| 26-Jan | 1992 | Oz Day 10K | Sydney, Australia | 10 km | First Junior Woman | Australian | ||
| April | 1992 | Australian Marathon Championships | Adelaide, South Australia | 42 km | First Open Woman | Australian | ||
| 3–14 September | 1992 | Paralympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 42 km | 6th Open Woman | Australian | ||
| 23-Jan | 1993 | New South Wales Sugar Games | Sydney, Australia | 800m (demo) | First | 02:05.8 | Australian | |
| 29-Jan | 1993 | VicHealth International Track Meet | Melbourne, Victoria | 200m | First | 30.7 | Australian | |
| 29-Jan | 1993 | VicHealth International Track Meet | Melbourne, Victoria | 1500m | First | 03:40.7 | Australian | |
| 7-Feb | 1993 | Athletics Australia Grand Prix Meet | Perth, Western Australia | 100m | First Woman | 17.2 | Australian | |
| 7-Feb | 1993 | Athletics Australia Grand Prix Meet | Perth, Western Australia | 1500m | First Woman | 03:38.7 | Australian | |
| 3–4 April | 1993 | Athletics Australia 1st National Disabled Track and Field Championships | Canberra, Australia | 100m | First | 17.23 | Australian | |
| 3–4 April | 1993 | Athletics Australia 1st National Disabled Track and Field Championships | Canberra, Australia | 200m | First | 07:12.0 | Australian | |
| 3–4 April | 1993 | Athletics Australia 1st National Disabled Track and Field Championships | Canberra, Australia | 400m | First | 55.77 | Australian | |
| 3–4 April | 1993 | Athletics Australia 1st National Disabled Track and Field Championships | Canberra, Australia | 800m | First | 01:55.3 | Australian | |
| 3–4 April | 1993 | Athletics Australia 1st National Disabled Track and Field Championships | Canberra, Australia | 1500m | First | 03:40.5 | ||
| 3–4 April | 1993 | Athletics Australia 1st National Disabled Track and Field Championships | Canberra, Australia | 5000m | First | 12:56.0 | Australian | |
| 25–26 June | 1993 | Metro Toronto International Wheelchair Challenge | Toronto, Ontario | 200m | First | 16:48.0 | ||
| 25–26 June | 1993 | Metro Toronto International Wheelchair Challenge | Toronto, Ontario | 400m | First | 50:24.0 | ||
| 25–26 June | 1993 | Metro Toronto International Wheelchair Challenge | Toronto, Ontario | 800m | First | 01:54.4 | Australian | |
| 25–26 June | 1993 | Metro Toronto International Wheelchair Challenge | Toronto, Ontario | 1500m | First | 03:53.0 | ||
| 25–26 June | 1993 | Metro Toronto International Wheelchair Challenge | Toronto, Ontario | 5000m | First | 13:20.8 | ||
| 20-Aug | 1993 | IAAF World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 800m (demo) | First | 01:54.4 | Australian | |
| 26-Jan | 1993 | Oz Day 10K | Sydney, Australia | 10 km | First Open Woman | 25:22.0 | Australian | |
| 27-Feb | 1993 | Gasparilla 15k | Tampa, Florida | 15 km | First Open Woman | 39:46.0 | Australian | |
| 7-Mar | 1993 | Los Angeles Marathon | Los Angeles, California | 42 km | 4th Open Woman | 01:52.3 | ||
| 14-Mar | 1993 | Mobil 10K | Torrance, California | 10 km | First Open Woman | |||
| 21-Mar | 1993 | Round the Bays | Auckland, New Zealand | 8.8 km | First Open Woman | 19:05.0 | Australian | |
| 19-Apr | 1993 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 42 km | Third Open Woman | 01:39.3 | Australian | |
| 25-Apr | 1993 | Toyota of Orange 10K | Orange County, California | 10 km | First Open Woman | 23:48.0 | Australian | |
| 2-May | 1993 | Lilac Bloomsday 12K | Spokane, Washington | 12 km | Second Open Woman | 34:28.0 | Australian | |
| 6-Jun | 1993 | Melbourne Marathon | Melbourne, Victoria | 42 km | First Open Woman | 02:03.6 | ||
| 4-Jul | 1993 | Peachtree 10K | Atlanta, Georgia | 10 km | First Open Woman | 24:12.0 | ||
| 10-Jul | 1993 | Kaiser Roll 10K | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 10 km | First Open Woman | 24:45.5 | ||
| 31 July – 7 August | 1993 | Blomen Marathon | Bloemen, Holland | 8-day stage race | First Woman Overall | |||
| 21-Nov | 1993 | Olympic Dream 10K | Melbourne, Victoria | 10 km | First Open Woman | |||
Training
Sauvage would train 10 to 14 hours a week, when she was actively competing. Her training was very focused, and she attempted to make it fun to help her maintain interest. She often trained six days a week. Her training included boxing, swimming and racing between 25 to 35 km in a single session.Frank Ponta
Frank Ponta
Ponta coached several medal winning Paralympic athletes including Louise Sauvage and Priya Cooper. He was Sauvage's first coach, starting when Sauvage was a junior competitor. Sauvage described Ponta's coaching style as patient....
was one of Sauvage's coaches during her competitive career.
Athletic administration
After her retirement from competition, she became involved in coaching young wheelchair athletes, establishing a foundation to help support children with disabilities in 2001. In 2004, Sauvage started coaching other wheelchair athletes. The first athlete that she coached was Angie BallardAngie Ballard
Angela Ballard is an Australian Paralympic athletics competitor, who competes in T53 Sprint events. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.-Personal:...
. Sauavage's coaching helped Ballard win gold 400m and silver in the 100m, 200m, 800m and 1500m at the Summer Down Under Series in 2005.
Sauvage was a national team coach for the Australian wheelchair track and road team. She retired as a coach for the national side in 2005. In 2005, Sauvage was involved as a coach for wheelchair track and road racing for Australia at the 2005 Canberra INAS-FID World Athletics Championships.
Recognition
Sauvage was the Australian Paralympian of the Year in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998. She was also the Australian Institute of SportAustralian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
Athlete of the year in 1997. In 1998, she was a winner of the Australian of the Year Awards in the ABIGGRIUOP National Sports Award category. In 1999, Suavage was named the Female Athlete of the Year in the Sport Australia Awards. In 2000, She was named the "World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" at the first Laureus Sports Awards held in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
In 1999 and 2000, she was named the International Female Athlete of the Year.
Retirement
A Sydney Harbour Supercat (CatamaranCatamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
) has been named in her honour in 2001. The Louise Sauvage Pathway
Louise Sauvage Pathway
Named in honour of Australian paralympic wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage, the Pathway is the longest continuous section of pathway in Sydney Olympic Park...
, a 6.3 km wheelchair-accessible bicycle and walking path within Sydney Olympic Park, is also named in her honour. Suavage and NSW Treasurer Michael Egan christened the park on 6 March 2003. During her retirement from being an athlete, Sauvage created a consulting company that she works for.
In 2010, Sauvage was a speaker at the IPC Women in Sport Summit. She spoke alongside Amy Winters
Amy Winters
Amy Winters is an athletics competitor from Australia. She competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics, the 2000 Summer Paralympics and 2004 Summer Paralympics. At these games, she won a total of five gold medals and two bronze medals. The first bronze medal was in 1996 in the 100 m T42-46 event. ...
and Jayme Paris
Jayme Paris
Jayme Paris is a Paralympic cycling competitor from Australia. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the Women's 500m Time Trial LC3-4/CP3 event.-References:...
.
In February 2011, Sauvage participated in the Charter Hall Malabar Magic Ocean Swim. The event was created to raise funds for Rainbow Club. It was Sauvage's first ocean swim. She finished the 1 km race in 25:19.
Disability rights
Louise Savage and Paul Nunnar lobbied Virgin BlueVirgin Blue
Virgin Australia Airlines, formerly Virgin Blue Airlines, is Australia's second-largest airline as well as the largest by fleet size to utilise the Virgin brand. Now based in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, the airline was co-founded by British businessman Sir Richard Branson and...
during 2006 to drop a requirement that people in wheelchairs be accompanied by a carer if they wish to ride on a Virgin Blue aircraft. Previously, both athletes had tried to lobby Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
to lift a limit of only two electric wheelchairs on domestic flights flying on Boeing 737s. The pair were ineffective because the change would have required a change in law, not in airline policy. Louise Savage and Paul Nunnar did receive an invitation to help train Qantas staff and help make staff more aware of the needs of the disabled.
Inspiration
Several Paralympians cite Sauvage as inspiring them to become athletes, including wheelchair racer Kurt FearnleyKurt Fearnley
Kurt Fearnley OAM is an Australian wheelchair racer, who competes at the Olympic level. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 5th in the demonstration sport of Men's 1500m wheelchair...
.
External links
- Review of My Story by Louise Sauvage