Victoria Manalo Draves (1924-2010)
Victoria Manalo Draves Park (16 Sherman Street, San Francisco)
Born and raised in San Francisco, Victoria Manalo overcame racial prejudice. Her father was Filipino and her mother was English. Because of her ethnicity, some swimming clubs would not allow her to compete in swim meets. Then Vicki met Lyle Draves, who became her diving coach and husband. She is celebrated for being the first Asian American female to win gold medals in platform and springboard diving at the 1948 London Olympics, as well as being the only swimmer to win gold medals in two individual events. In 1969, Vicki was inducted into the international Swimming Hall of Fame at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Over thirty years later, the city renamed a park as the Victoria Manalo Draves Park in her honor.
(Portrait by Maria Lule-Villanueva, SFSU 2014)