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| Event type

Springboard, Women

Date2 – 3 August 1948
StatusOlympic
LocationWembley Arena, Wembley, London
Participants16 from 8 countries
Format3 metre springboard. Final round only. Four compulsory and four optional dives.

This was a very close competition between American Vicki Draves and Zoe Ann Olsen. Draves led the preliminary round by only 1.1 points over Olsen, but Olsen outscored her in the final round, just barely. But Draves was able to hang on to win the gold medal, with Olsen second. American Patsy Elsener completed the American sweep. Draves would return in a few days and become the first woman to win the springboard/platform double at a single Olympics, with Elsener taking silver on platform.

Vicki Draves had been born Victoria Manolo as the daughter of a Filipino father and had to overcome racial discrimination to be able to dive at some clubs in the San Francisco area, where she grew up. Her first club required her to use her mother’s maiden name, Taylor, in order to swim and dive at the club. Zoe Ann Olsen later became part of a dream American sports pairing when she married Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee outfielder and one-time American League MVP Jackie Jensen, although they would later divorce. Victoria Manolo would later marry her coach, Lyle Draves, and take his name.

PosCompetitor(s)NOCPoints
1Vicki DravesUSA108.74Gold
2Zoe Ann OlsenUSA108.23Silver
3Patsy ElsenerUSA101.30Bronze
4Nicole PéllissardFRA100.38
5Gudrun GrömerAUT93.30
6Edna ChildGBR91.63
7Mady MoreauFRA89.43
8Kiki HeckNED87.61
9Birte ChristoffersenDEN87.12
10Jeannette Aubert-PinciFRA86.96
11Alma StaudingerAUT86.93
12Cobie FloorNED83.14
13Esme HarrisGBR74.10
14Kay CuthbertGBR72.40
15Inger NordbøNOR70.86
16Ibone BelausteguigoitíaMEX58.18
DNSIrén ZságotHUN

Preliminary Round (2 August 1948 — 09:00)

Four optional dives.

PosCompetitor(s)NOCPoints
1Vicki DravesUSA48.61
2Zoe Ann OlsenUSA47.51
3Patsy ElsenerUSA46.13
4Nicole PéllissardFRA44.44
5Gudrun GrömerAUT43.53
6Mady MoreauFRA41.76
7Birte ChristoffersenDEN41.51
8Edna ChildGBR40.75
9Alma StaudingerAUT39.45
10Kiki HeckNED39.09
11Jeannette Aubert-PinciFRA38.64
12Cobie FloorNED37.51
13Inger NordbøNOR36.34
14Esme HarrisGBR34.13
15Kay CuthbertGBR32.51
16Ibone BelausteguigoitíaMEX28.58

Final Round (3 August 1948 — 09:00)

Four compulsory dives (forward running header [1.2], back header [1.6], reverse running half gainer [1.9], backward spring-forward dive [1.2]).

PosCompetitor(s)NOCPoints
1Zoe Ann OlsenUSA60.72
2Vicki DravesUSA60.13
3Nicole PéllissardFRA55.94
4Patsy ElsenerUSA55.17
5Edna ChildGBR50.88
6Gudrun GrömerAUT49.77
7Kiki HeckNED48.52
8Jeannette Aubert-PinciFRA48.32
9Mady MoreauFRA47.67
10Alma StaudingerAUT47.48
11Cobie FloorNED45.63
12Birte ChristoffersenDEN45.61
13Esme HarrisGBR39.97
14Kay CuthbertGBR39.89
15Inger NordbøNOR34.52
16Ibone BelausteguigoitíaMEX29.60