Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM (born 18 September 1973)[1] is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach.

It wasn't until I made it to where everyone else was, in the sports pages, where any elite athlete deserves to be, that I thought, 'OK they're taking me seriously now, this is good'.

Her mother was a Ten Pound Pom from Leicestershire, England, while her father was born in the British colony of Seychelles.

[6] She was born with a severe congenital spinal condition called myelomeningocele,[7] which inhibits the function of the lower half of the body, giving limited control over the legs.

[5] As a preteen, Sauvage had scoliosis,[9] and at 14, she had surgery to fix a curvature in her spine,[9][10] using steel rods.

[9] If I had to pick my greatest moment, it would be winning the demonstration event at the 2000 Games and coming back later that evening and having my medal presented to me by Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was head of the IOC.

[11] In 1990, Sauvage competed in her first international competition in Assen, Holland, where she won gold in the 100 m setting a new world record.

[12] Before the start of the 1992 Summer Paralympics, Sauvage held Australian records for the 100 m, 200 m, 800 m, 1500 m 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.

[13] At the Barcelona Paralympic Games, she won gold medals in the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m and a silver in the 800 m TW4 events and finished sixth in Marathon TW3-4.

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.

[20] Sauvage won the prestigious Oz Day 10K Wheelchair Road Race ten times – 1993–1999 and 2001–2003.

[23] 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.

[27] After her retirement from competition, she became involved in coaching young wheelchair athletes,[18] establishing a foundation to help support children with disabilities in 2001.

Sauvage's coaching helped Ballard win gold 400 m and silver in the 100 m, 200 m, 800 m and 1500 m at the Summer Down Under Series in 2005.

[29] In February 2011, Sauvage participated in the Charter Hall Malabar Magic Ocean Swim.

[10] In 2011, as part of the Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies oral history project of the National Library of Australia, Ian Jobling conducted an extensive interview with Sauvage.

Previously, both athletes had tried to lobby Qantas to lift a limit of only two electric wheelchairs on domestic flights flying on Boeing 737s.

[3] In 2000, she was named the "World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" at the first Laureus Sports Awards held in Monte Carlo.

[32] At the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Sauvage lit the cauldron during the opening ceremonies for the games.

[19] The Louise Sauvage Pathway, a 6.3-kilometre (3.9 mi) wheelchair-accessible bicycle and walking path within Sydney Olympic Park, is also named in her honour.

[34] Sauvage and New South Wales Treasurer Michael Egan christened the park on 6 March 2003.

[37] In 2011, she was one of the first people to be inducted into the Australian Paralympian Hall of Fame, along with Frank Ponta and George Bedbrook.

[45] Several Paralympians cite Sauvage as inspiring them to become athletes, including wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley.