I watched as they built the Olympic Stadium. I drove my car around the athletics track when it was still dirt. Just a couple of years later, I would win Paralympic gold twice on that same soil - my home turf | Louise Sauvage
I watched as they built the Olympic Stadium. I drove my car around the athletics track when it was still dirt. Just a couple of years later, I would win Paralympic gold twice on that same soil - my home turf.
Louise Sauvage receives the congratulations of Jean Driscoll of the United States after winning the 1500-metre final of the Sydney Paralympic Games.I moved from Perth to Sydney in 1997, determined to experience every bit of the build-up to those Games and to further my career. I lived close to Homebush and I watched as day by the day, the construction workers transformed an empty part of Sydney into one of the greatest sporting precincts, where all my Sydney Games memories would happen.
Qualifying had taken place prior to the Games so this was the final. I was so nervous – the only Aussie in the race. I remember entering the stadium to a sea of colour and noise, 110,000 people watching me. In the last 200 metres, as I raced into the home straight, all I heard and felt was the crowd bringing me home to win gold.Vince Caligiuri
Three weeks later, I lit the cauldron to mark the start of the Paralympic Games. My role in the Opening Ceremony was a surprise for all, including my family. I went on to compete in three events - the 800 metres, 1500 metres and 5000 metres. I had won gold in all three at Atlanta in 1996 and the pressure I felt to defend my titles was enormous. I put most of it on myself - but I knew the public wanted it as much as I did.
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