July 23, 2022, marks the 70th anniversary of Dame Yvette Williams' becoming the first New Zealand woman to win an Olympic gold medal, in Helsinki. A new biography, Ideals Are Like Stars, by Angela Walker - also an Olympic athlete - features the letter written by Dame Yvette's father, to his daughter after her phenomenal achievement.
Yvette's father, Tom, was struggling to find a quiet moment just to sit down at his kitchen table. He had had a tumultuous night awaiting news of the dramatic contest as it was sporadically reported on the radio. He had since fielded a non-stop series of calls and visits from chuffed friends, journalists, even complete strangers. Now it was time to regale Yvette with the story of the night of nights she had given him at 24 Bridge St, Dunedin. There was no prouder father in the world that day, sitting with his fountain pen and aerogramme, writing to his daughter — the Olympic champion.
![New Zealand athlete Yvette Williams wins the long jump final at the Olympic Games in Helsinki 23 July 1952 with a new Olympic Record of 6.24m. Photo / Supplied](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/TCIQ54WO777HAJOKAJIAKC4EMY.jpg?auth=dc8b851832cdceb4267d355c91824e18b4b4d682296e512977ec9db637ee45e7&width=16&height=23&quality=70&smart=true)
26.07.52
Hullo, Chickie. Now that I've come back to earth again, I'll see if I can tell you something of what's happened in the old hometown since last Thursday, but first of all, sweetheart, I must again congratulate you on your marvellous performance. It was absolutely wonderful and if I live to be 100, which is not likely, I would never forget one minute of it, but you certainly gave us all a big scare, with those two no jumps called against you and I never want to go through another hour of such anxiety and suspense as I did during those early hours last Thursday morning. But I realise now that it was nothing as compared to the way you must have felt. I couldn't possibly tell you the whole story by writing to you. That will have to keep until you're back home again. The best I can do is just to give you a very brief picture of what went on at 24.