Vicki Draves

Victoria " Vicki " Draves ( born: Victoria Manalo, born December 31, 1924 in San Francisco, California, † April 11, 2010 in Palm Springs, California ) was an American Water Diving. As the first water jumper she could win the same Olympic Games, both the springboard and the platform diving in 1948.

Career

Vicki Draves was born as one of two twin daughters of Filipinos and an Englishwoman. At sixteen, she began with the water jump, the main obstacle was the race rules in San Francisco: Filipinos were not allowed to train in the swimming clubs. She began her career under the name Victoria Taylor, the maiden name of her mother. She changed twice the swimming club and eventually came to coach Lyle Draves in Oakland. At the U.S. Indoor Championships in 1945 three students of Lyle Draves occupied the first three places with Vicki Manalo in second place behind Zoe Ann Olsen. Lyle Draves moved in 1945 to Los Angeles, Vicki Manalo followed him and came at the U.S. Championships in 1945, second and third place. After the war she married her coach and moved permanently to Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Vicki Draves won the U.S. Championship titles from 1946 to 1948 from the tower and won in 1948 also from the three - meter board. Although neither won from the tower at the knockouts for the U.S. Olympic team from the board, she was able to qualify in both disciplines for the Olympic Games 1948 in London. In diving, it came on August 3, 1948, a very close decision between Zoe Ann Olsen and Vicki Draves, Draves finally won with a half -point lead, seven points behind Olsen ranked the third American Patricia Elsener. Three days later won Draves with half a point ahead of Elsener and the diving. This Draves was the first water jumper who won both competitions in the same Olympics.

After the Olympics, Draves began a professional career, among other things, she appeared in the shows of Buster Crabbe. In 1950, she retired and devoted himself to her family, Vicki and Lyle Draves had four sons. In 1969, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the international swimming sport.