Yvette Williams
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Women's athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Helsinki 1952 | Long jump | |
Yvette Corlett, née Yvette Winifred Williams (born April 25, 1929) is a retired athlete from New Zealand, the first woman from her country to win an Olympic gold medal. Williams, who grew up in Dunedin, is recalled naturally for her dramatic long jump gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and for her world record leap of 6.29m (20ft 7 1/2 inches) at Gisborne in 1954.
But she was a versatile athlete who won Empire Games gold medals in the shot and discus, a silver in the javelin and made the 80m hurdles final. Eventually she won 21 national titles spread over five disciplines. She was Sportsman of the Year twice and was voted Athlete of the Decade for the 1950s. She was awarded an MBE in 1953.
Williams also represented New Zealand at basketball and reaches South Island rep level at netball. She moved north from Dunedin to be with her coach Jim Bellwood, as she always called her coach. Williams rose to national prominence by winning the national shot put title in 1947, but it was as a long jumper that she really excelled. She won the Empire Games long jump gold medal at Auckland in 1950, and then set her eyes on the Olympic Games two years later.
Following her gold medal triumph in Helsinki, Williams returned from Helsinki a national hero and received the sort of public reception the All Blacks and America's Cup yachties have been accorded in recent times. There was a huge public reception in Auckland, and there were open car parades everywhere she travelled all the way south to Dunedin. She might have retired after Helsinki but for the lure of a trip to Vancouver for the 1954 Empire Games, where she won three gold medals.
Williams retired before the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. She was married by then, to national basketball and softball player Buddy Corlett, and her thoughts were drifting from athletics to starting a family - she and husband Buddy eventually raised four children, who all excelled at sport.
She remained involved in sport, helping form the Pakuranga Athletic Club in 1967, and working as a physical education teacher at the Otahuhu and Diocesan schools. Her younger brother, Roy Williams, won the 1966 Empire Games decathlon title.
She was inducted into the New Zealand Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2000 she was voted Otago Sportsperson of the Century.
