Welcome to our 36th #womanoftheweek! Today, we will be discussing Vicki Draves, a Filipina American Diver! Enjoy!
Born Victoria Manalo, Vicki Draves adopted her mother’s maiden name, Taylor, for competition in order to escape racial prejudice in the 1940s. Regardless of how it is recorded, Draves will be etched into the books as one of the greatest divers in Olympic history. Born to an English mother and Filipino father, the Manalo family faced heavy discrimination, as interracial marriage was heavily frowned upon at the time. Draves was forced to train in segregated pools that only allowed people of color to participate once a week. They were drained and cleaned shortly after. Growing up, she and her family often hopped on the trolley to the enormous Fleishhacker Pool to swim and watch the divers.
When she was a teenager, a member of a local swim team asked if she wanted to learn to dive, and she eagerly accepted, spring boarding her into the sport she went on to champion. Draves was forced to train in segregated pools that only allowed people of color to participate once a week. They were drained and cleaned shortly after. After thousands of dives to perfect her form and three consecutive U.S. National Diving Championship platform titles, Draves earned a spot at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She dominated the games one faithful leap at a time and made history as the first woman to take home the gold in both the platform and springboard events.
Following her athletic career, Draves joined Buster Crabbe’s “Aqua Parade,” a popular traveling water extravaganza show that had her performing across the United States and Europe. In London, she took home gold medals in the 3-meter springboard and the 10-meter platform, becoming not only the first woman to sweep the diving events, but also becoming the first Asian American to win an Olympic medal. Draves was named one of Team USA’s best athletes by Life Magazine for her accomplishment.
She later settled down and started a swimming and diving training center with her husband. Draves was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1969, and in 2005, the site of Vicki's and her twin sister Connie's elementary school became the Victoria Manalo Draves Park. Thank you, Vicki Draves, for inspiring people everywhere to aim high and take the plunge!
This is a Woman of the Week article, a weekly deep dive into an amazing woman of color. For more incredible stories like this one, check out our article on Kamal Ranadive and Felicitas Mendez! Make sure to follow us at @likeagirlglobal on Instagram for more updates and original content!
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