Dame Yvette Winifred Corlett (née Williams; 25 April 1929 – 13 April 2019) was a New Zealand

track-and-field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a ...

athlete who was the first woman from her country to win an

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

and to hold the world record in the women's

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. Williams was named "Athlete of the Century" on the 100th anniversary of

Athletics New Zealand Athletics New Zealand (ANZ) is the national governing body for athletics (sport), athletics in New Zealand. This includes responsibility for Track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. History The organisation was fou ...

, in 1987.

Early life

Williams was born on 25 April 1929 in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. She grew up there and attended

Otago Girls' High School Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple. It is one of the oldest girls state-run secondary school in the Southern Hem ...

. While at high school, Williams played several sports, making the top netball team and playing for Otago and the South Island. Williams also represented Otago, the South Island and New Zealand (1950, 1953–55) in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Athletics career

Williams joined the Otago Athletic Club in early 1947, mainly for social reasons. Two months later, she came to national attention when she won the shot put at the New Zealand athletics championships. She went on to win 21 national titles across 5 disciplines: shot put (1947–54), javelin (1950), discus (1951–54), long jump (1948–54) and the 80 m hurdles (1954). With 21 New Zealand titles, she is the joint second-most successful New Zealand female athlete at that level, with Beatrice Faumuina and Melissa Moon, behind Val Young (35 titles).

Jim Bellwood James Charles Bellwood (10 July 1912 – 19 July 1994) was a New Zealand labourer, physical education instructor and sports coach. He was born in Hastings, New Zealand, as James Charles Robertson, but was fostered by Arthur and Ada Bellwood ...

, who had moved to Dunedin in late 1947 or early 1948, became her trainer. When Bellwood moved to Auckland in 1952 to teach at Avondale College, Williams followed, boarding with an aunt and uncle in Devonport. Controversially left out of the New Zealand team for the 1948 Olympic Games in London, Williams won the long jump title at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

in Auckland. Her winning leap of broke the national, Empire Games, and British Empire records. At the same competition, she also won the silver medal in the women's javelin, with a throw of . In 1951 Williams jumped at a meet in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, the third-best distance ever by a woman at that time, increased her New Zealand shot put record, and also became the New Zealand discus record holder. At the 1952 New Zealand championships, Williams became the first woman in history to jump over more than once, winning the long jump title with a distance of , but the distance was not recognised as a world record as it was wind-assisted. Also in 1952 she recorded a score of 4219 points in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

, setting a New Zealand record that stood for 10 years. Williams won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki; her winning distance of 6.24 m was a new Olympic record and 1 cm short of

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen (; 26 April 191825 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earning ...

's world record set in 1943. Also at Helsinki, Williams finished in sixth place in the shot put and 10th in the discus throw. In February 1954, Williams broke the women's

world record at

Gisborne, New Zealand Gisborne is a List of cities in New Zealand, city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisborne Region). It has a population of Gisborne District Council has its headquarters in the central city. ...

, with a leap of 6.28 metres. Later that year she travelled to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

for the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war G ...

, winning gold medals in the long jump, discus, and shot put, all with Empire Games record performances, and finishing sixth in the 80 m hurdles. She announced her retirement from athletic competition in November 1954. At the time she ranked number one in world track and field history in the long jump, fifth in the pentathlon, 12th in the discus throw and 19th in the shot put.

Personal life

Williams married Buddy Corlett, a member of the national basketball team, in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 11 December 1954. The couple had four children, including national basketball representative Neville Corlett; Auckland provincial rugby union player Peter Corlett, and Karen Corlett, who represented New Zealand in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1977 world championships. Williams' younger brother, Roy Williams, won the decathlon at the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The event was followed by the 1966 Commonweal ...

in Kingston, Jamaica. Buddy Corlett died on 9 May 2015. Williams died in Auckland on 13 April 2019 at the age of 89, 12 days before her 90th birthday.

Honours and awards

In the 1953 New Year Honours, Williams was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services in women's athletics. She was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services to athletics in the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 '' New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

. Williams was twice named the New Zealand Sportsman of the Year, for 1950 and 1952. She was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the hall ...

in 1990. In 2000, she was voted

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

Sportsperson of the Century. Sports writer Peter Heidenstrom, author of the book ''Athletes of the Century'', rates her as New Zealand's top athlete of the 20th century. The "Yvette Williams Retirement Village" in the Dunedin suburb of Roslyn is named in her honour. In 2013, the

New Zealand Olympic Committee The New Zealand Olympic Committee (before 1994, The ''New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association'') is both the National Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Association in New Zealand responsible for selecting athletes to re ...

, in association with the Glenn Family Foundation, established the Yvette Williams Scholarship, to assist young athletes displaying both exceptional talent and need. In the

2019 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, Williams was posthumously promoted to

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to athletics; the Queen's approval of the honour took effect on 12 April, the day before Williams's death. She had been advised of the award before her death.

References

External links