page_title: Yvette Williams
hierarchical_section_title: Yvette Williams
caption_attribution_description: English: Yvette Williams
context_page_description: Yvette Winifred Corlett CNZM MBE was a New Zealand athlete. She won the gold medal in the women's long jump at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. This made her the first woman from her country to win an Olympic gold medal. She was also the first New Zealander to hold the world record in the women's long jump. She was a national champion and a medallist at the Commonwealth Games in long jump, javelin, shot put and discus. On the 100th anniversary of Athletics New Zealand in 1987, she was named "Athlete of the Century".
  Williams was born in Dunedin. She married Canadian-born New Zealand sportsman Buddy Corlett in 1954. He died in 2015.
  Williams died on 13 April 2019, at the age of 89.
context_section_description: Yvette Winifred Corlett CNZM MBE (née Williams, 25 April 1929 – 13 April 2019) was a New Zealand athlete. She won the gold medal in the women's long jump at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. This made her the first woman from her country to win an Olympic gold medal. She was also the first New Zealander to hold the world record in the women's long jump. She was a national champion and a medallist at the Commonwealth Games in long jump, javelin, shot put and discus. On the 100th anniversary of Athletics New Zealand in 1987, she was named "Athlete of the Century".
  Williams was born in Dunedin. She married Canadian-born New Zealand sportsman Buddy Corlett in 1954. He died in 2015.
  Williams died on 13 April 2019, at the age of 89.
caption: Williams in 1954
exif: {}