(1929– ).

Athlete.

Yvette Williams was born in Dunedin on 25 April 1929 and educated at Otago Girls' High School. After leaving school she worked in the Pharmaceutical Office of the Health Department and later as a bookkeeper. Between 1947 and 1954 she achieved an enviable record in athletic field events. She won the following New Zealand championships: shot put (1947 to 1954 inclusive); long jump (1948 to 1954 inclusive); javelin (1950); discus (1951 to 1954 inclusive); and 80 metres hurdles (1954). At the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland she won the gold medal for her long jump (19 ft 4 ½ in.) – a new games record – and also took the silver medal in the javelin event. She represented New Zealand at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, where she won the long jump, setting a new Olympic record of 20 ft 5 ½ in. In 1954, at the Empire Games in Vancouver, she came sixth in the final of the 80 metres hurdles, won the shot put with a record distance of 45 ft 9 ½ in., and won the discus event with a throw of 147 ft 8 in. On 20 February 1954 at Gisborne she established a new world record for the long jump with a distance of 20 ft 7 ½ in. She was awarded the M.B.E. in 1953.