I saw this Google Doodle today and thought it was really pretty. I clicked on it to learn who this person was.
This is Victoria "Vicki" Draves. She's a Filipino American diver and coach. She was also the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal. On August 3, 1948, she won a gold medal at the Olympics in London for the women's 3-meter springboard. She also won a gold medal for a platform diving event. That made her the first woman to win gold in both platform and springboard events.
She grew up in San Francisco. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Asians were discriminated against. It didn't matter that she Filipino and not Japanese. It didn't matter that she was good enough to be on the Olympic team. She still wasn't allowed to practice at some pools.
When she competed at the Olympics she wasn't married yet so her name was Victoria Taylor Manalo. She was told that if she wanted to compete should couldn't use her Filipino last name and would have to use Victoria Taylor. Another Asian American who trained with her, Sammy Lee, told her not to break her father's heart and keep her last name. Victoria ended up getting married before the Olympics so she ended up using her married name, Victoria Draves. (Sammy Lee also won a gold medal at the same Olympics for a platform diving event. He became the second Asian American to win a gold medal. Victoria was the first. She won hers two days before Sammy.)
After the Olympics she did diving performances in shows around the world. She and her husband ran a swimming and diving program.
She passed away in 2010.
Comments