First Filipina-American to win Olympic gold to be honored

MANILA, Philippines – The first Filipina-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal and the first American to win two gold medals in the springboard and platform diving competitions at the 1948 Olympics, Victoria Manalo Draves, will be honored this weekend in San Francisco, it was reported by NBC News.

Draves, who was also the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal, was born in 1924 in San Francisco’s South of Market area, according to the report, which also indicates that the place is still a “key landing area” for Filipino immigrants in the Bay Arena.

Draves passed away at 85-years-old in 2010. In 2006, the San Francisco named a park in her honor on the site where she went to elementary school.

San Francisco will place a plaque at the park that bears her name on October 10 in honor of what she accomplished in the 1948 Olympics.

The report indicates that Draves did not begin diving until she was 16 and in high school. In a report by the New York Times, it’s mentioned that she was rejected for training at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel Swimming and Diving Club due to her Filipino name.

Draves was able to compete after changing her last name to Taylor, which is her mother’s maiden name.

“Victoria Manalo Draves was a brilliant athlete and a great role model for both women and Asian American communities,” said District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, in a press release.

The unveiling of Draves’ plaque will commence with the singing of both the Philippine and United States national anthems. – Rappler.com