Evert Ploeg Louise Sauvage

This portrait by Evert Ploeg of wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage was a finalist in the Daily Telegraph Sporting Portrait Prize, held in conjunction with the Archibald Prize 2000.

When Sauvage blitzed the field in the final leg of the 4 × 400 metre relay at the 1998 IPC World Athletics Championships, Ploeg decided he had to paint her. ‘I just think she embodies the true spirit of being a sportsperson,’ he says.

Born and raised in Australia, with Dutch heritage, Ploeg works as an artist and freelance illustrator. His portrait of actor Deborah Mailman won the People’s Choice in the 1999 Archibald.