New Zealand's first woman Olympic champion Yvette Corlett, nee Williams. (NZ Herald Archive)
New Zealand's first woman Olympic champion Yvette Corlett, nee Williams. (NZ Herald Archive)
At the Olympic Games in Helsinki Yvette Williams - now Corlett - set a high standard when she became the first of many New Zealand women to win a gold medal.
Yvette Williams winning the long jump final in Helsinki. (NZ Herald Archive)
"As she prepared for that all-or-nothing leap, the thought rattled around her head: 'The New Zealand public expected meto do well, so I thought I can't let everybody down.'
"Then, on her next jump, she sped down the track and flew 6.24m, an Olympic record."
The Herald at the time reported: "At home the reactions of excitement varied from the extreme pride of her parents to a solemn motion of congratulations offered by the Auckland Stock Exchange."
