'Twas in London when a Fil-Brit struck gold

MANILA, Philippines - In 1948, London hosted the first Olympics after World War II and a Filipina-British diver Victoria Manalo Draves bagged two gold medals for the US in the three-meter springboard and 10-meter platform diving events. If Draves wore the Philippine colors instead, she would’ve entered the history books as the only Filipino athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. Just the same, Draves is remembered as the first Euroasian Olympic gold medalist ever.

Now, 64 years later, the Olympics is back in London, making the city the first to stage three Summer Games starting in 1908. For the Filipino delegation of 11 athletes, Draves could serve as an inspiration to strike gold.

Draves would’ve probably preferred to compete for the Philippines in 1948 if only someone suggested it. The Philippines had no female entry in the Olympics that year and showed up with 23 athletes, including 10 in basketball and five boxers. The delegation came home without a medal.

The US didn’t deserve to be honored by Draves who because of her Filipino lineage, was denied entry in several swimming clubs in San Francisco during her teens. Draves was forced by her coach to use her English mother’s surname Taylor instead of her family name Manalo to swim in clubs which frowned on “colored” minorities. Her father, a musician who went to the US with a string band and settled in San Francisco, was often refused entry in clubs where she competed because of his race. Her mother migrated from England to join a younger sister who was married to a Filipino in the US. Draves’ parents met and married in San Francisco where she grew up in the poor side of town, south of Market.

Draves’ father died a few years before she performed at the Olympics. He would’ve been proud of her. In London, she met her long-lost English relatives who treated her once to dinner at the Continental Hotel. Because England was still recovering from the devastation of war, food was rationed and steak was difficult to come by. Draves didn’t realize until after dinner that the main course was horse meat. The Olympics that year became known as the Austerity Games.

Draves travelled to London on board the ship S. S. Amerrica and stayed at a military barracks which served as the Olympic Village for athletes. While the US delegation sailed, the Philippine contingent flew to London. It was the Philippine delegation’s first trip to the Olympics by plane. The flight took almost forever with stops in Bangkok, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Athens, Rome and Madrid before finally landing in London.

The Olympic parade in the opening ceremonies was an unforgettable experience for Draves. “You just feel like this one little tiny member of a huge gathering of all these wonderful athletes from all over the world,” said Draves in “An Olympian’s Oral History” by Dr. Margaret Costa. “It is such a different experience. It is just magnificent. Something you just hold in your heart and you just never forget, no matter how long ago it was.”

Draves topped a field of 16 competitors from eight countries in springboard diving. She racked up 108.74 points to runner-up Zoe-Ann Olsen’s 108.23. In platform diving, Draves took the gold with 68.87 points and dominated a cast of 15 entries from nine countries. She was only 23. Two years before, she married her diving coach Lyle Draves.

Life Magazine named Draves and decathlon gold medalist Bob Mathias as the top two US athletes at the 1948 Games. “She was such a beautiful, graceful diver,” said Dr. Sammy Lee, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 10-meter platform diving. “She worked very hard on both the springboard and the platform. I’d say her workouts were harder than the average top woman diver in those days.”

Draves’ victory was celebrated by Filipinos and Americans alike. In January 1949, she visited the Philippines and was welcomed by President Quirino at Malacanang. “Through my diving, I was able to meet all my relatives on both my mom’s and dad’s side,” she said. “Victoria can be translated into victory and Manalo means winning in Pilipino.”

After the Olympics, Draves turned pro and toured the world as a featured performer in such shows as Larry Crosby’s Rhapsody In Swimtime and Buster Crabbe’s Aquaparades. She received movie offers from Hollywood and the Philippines but decided show business wasn’t her line. “MGM and 20th Century Fox had their eyes on her,” said her husband. “They wanted to make a south-sea island girl out of her – to wear a sarong and all this stuff – but she didn’t want any part of it.” In 1950, she retired to become a full-time housewife.  In 1969, Draves was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Florida.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have Lyle and others who cared enough to take an interest in a little girl from the wrong side of the tracks in San Francisco and who was too poor to give them any financial compensation for all their help,” she said. “I believe that God has a plan for people and His plan for me has been so very, very good.”

While Draves is just one of over 1,500 gold medalists in US Olympic history, she would’ve been a legendary Filipina heroine if she only dove for the Philippines in 1948. Two years ago, Draves passed away at the age of 85 due to complications from pancreatic cancer in Palm Springs. Her four sons – David, Jeffrey, Dale and Kim – were never Olympic champions but became trick divers, specializing in cliff take-offs from 90 to 100 feet. She left behind her husband, sons and four grandchildren. The Philippines’ would’ve been first Olympic gold medalist may be a rallying symbol for the country’s delegation of 11 athletes in London. After all, it was in London where in 1948, Draves made the world sit up and take notice.