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'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 long jump world record at Gisborne, New Zealand, with a leap of 6.28 metres. Later that year she travelled to Vancouver for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, 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 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 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, for services in women's athletics. She was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to athletics in the 2011 New Year Honours. 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 in 1990. In 2000, she was voted Otago 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, in association with the