Yvette Williams

Yvette Williams, CNZM, MBE ( Yvette Winifred Williams, married Corlett, born April 25, 1929 in Dunedin ) is a former New Zealand athlete, the 1952 Olympic champion in the long jump.

In the British Empire Games in 1950 in Auckland, she won the gold medal in the long jump with a distance of 5.89 m. In 1952 she won at the Olympic Games in Helsinki in the same discipline the gold medal with a width of 6.24 m, was sixth in the shot put and discus throw in the Tenth.

1953 she was one of the founders of the Pakuranga Athletic and Harrier Club. In the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954 in Vancouver, she defended her title in the long jump and won gold in the discus throw. In Gisborne 1954 she broke the world record in the long jump with a distance of 6.29 m, which she held for 18 months.

Williams played netball for the Otago and South Iceland and basketball for Otago and New Zealand. She married Buddy Corlett 1954 who played basketball and softball. They then changed their name to Yvette Corlett. With her ​​husband, she has four children. In 1956, she ended her athletics career. In 1990 she was admitted Sports Hall of Fame in New Zealand.