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Clockwise from above: Yvette Williams competes at the New Zealand Junior and Women’s Athletic Championships, Hinemoa Park, Hamilton, February 1952. Yvette and Roy Williams shopping with their mother in Dunedin, circa 1937. Williams signing autographs at the 1950 British Empire Games, in Auckland. Yvette Williams on her supporters’ shoulders after winning gold in the women’s long jump at the Helsinki Olympics, July 1952. Photos: CORLETT FAMILY. AUCKLAND LIBRARIES. NZ HERALD. GETTY ARCHIVE

Dunedin’s gold medal-winning athlete Yvette Williams was a true trailblazer who, until now, has not had her story fully told. Bruce Munro talks to gold medal gymnast and author Angela Walker about being given access to Williams’ personal diaries and how the Olympic champion’s impact reached well beyond the long jump pit.