Yvette Williams

Dame Yvette Winifred Corlett née Williams DNZM MBE (25 April 1929 – 13 April 2019), known as Yvette Williams, was the first New Zealand women athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in track-and-field and achieve a world record in women's long jump.

3 quotes found

"I used concrete blocks and sandbags for weights. I'd do an hour of weight training at home in the morning. My uncle, in whose house I was living in Auckland, had built a sort of gym in the spare room, so I'd spend an hour doing callisthenics before I went to work."

- Yvette Williams

• 0 likes• Women from New Zealand• Women born in the 1900s• Sportspeople from New Zealand• Track and field athletes• Women in sports•
"At lunchtime I'd train at the Domain. I ran in army boots for 30-45 minutes. The theory was that when I didn't have the boots on, I'd feel like I was flying. It certainly did feel good without them!"

- Yvette Williams

• 0 likes• Women from New Zealand• Women born in the 1900s• Sportspeople from New Zealand• Track and field athletes• Women in sports•
"Then after work I'd be back at the Domain, or at one of the other parks. I'd be watched by Jim Bellwood, my coach. He'd supervise my jumping technique, or my throwing. This session would last a couple of hours."