Born a twin daughter of an English mother and a Filipino father, Vicki Draves was obliged to use her mother’s maiden name, Taylor, to gain entry to the then racially conscious swimming clubs in the San Francisco area. She won the first of her four AAU titles in 1946 and at the 1948 Games she became the first woman to win both diving events at the same Olympics. After the war she married her coach, Lyle Draves, in 1946. After the London Games, Draves joined various shows, including Buster Crabbe’s “Aqua Parade” and Larry Crosby’s “Rhapsody in Swimtime” in Chicago. She has several offers from Hollywood, but turned them down. After raising a faily she and her husband ran a swimming and diving program near Los Angeles, later moving the program to Encino. She also worked as a secretary. In 1969 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2005 San Francisco built a two-acre park near her childhood neighborhood and named it in Manolo Draves’ honor.
United States