“This really hurt my mom,” David Draves said. “She would actually go to a pool and compete and after she got done with the meet, they would empty the water out of the pool.”
At the 1944 Amateur Athletic Union championships, Lee, 24, saw Manalo, 20, dive for the first time and befriended her. He also introduced Manalo to her future diving coach – and husband — Lyle Draves.
It was also Lyle Draves who put his foot down on which name that Manalo Draves would compete with. The younger Draves recalled,"My dad goes, 'I don't give a s----. You're Vicki Manalo and that's what you're going to go by. That's ridiculous.'" On Aug. 3, 1948, Manalo Draves became the first Asian American to wear an Olympic gold medal, winning the women's three-meter springboard.
Later that decade, the Draves settled down in Glendale in Los Angeles County. There, a friendship was renewed. In this April 18, 2012 file photo, Olympic diving champion Dr. Sammy Lee waves to cheers during U.S. Olympic team festivities in New York's Times Square.Lee would go on to coach Olympic divers Pat McCormick, Bob Webster and Greg Louganis. He also practiced as an ear, nose, and throat doctor for 35 years before retiring in 1990.
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