New Zealand sprinter Zoe Hobbs wins the 100m at the Resisprint International competition at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland in a personal best time of 10.96 seconds qualifying her for a spot in the Olympic Games in France in 2024.
New Zealand sprinter Zoe Hobbs wins the 100m at the Resisprint International competition at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland in a personal best time of 10.96 seconds qualifying her for a spot in the Olympic Games in France in 2024.
When Zoe Hobbs first stepped onto the track at an athletics world championships, she felt completely out of her depth.
It was only four years ago but seems like a lifetime given what has happened since.
Of all the athletes in the large New Zealand team competing in Budapest thisweek, few have made such great strides over such a short time.
In 2019 Hobbs was already a highly promising sprinter in the national context, though yet to flick the switch on her full potential. She was juggling training with work and university commitments and paying for almost everything out of her own pocket. Given that, it was a considerable achievement to even be on the team sent to Doha.
“Back then it was a big deal for me personally just to qualify and represent New Zealand in a non-traditional event at a world championship,” Hobbs tells the Herald.
“It was something I was super proud of. Athletics has always been a passion and it was something I was willing to pour everything into out of the love for it. At that time I never thought it’d be possible to one day call this my job, so it’s pretty cool to reflect on just how far it has come.”
Hobbs had made steady progress in domestic and Australasian competition, but the meet in Qatar was at a new level.
“It was all about getting experience and having my eyes opened to the level of competition and how a championship works,” says Hobbs. “Everything was new, [so it] was a mixture of feeling nervous and excited.”
She was “super stoked” to have the opportunity but it wasn’t an entirely comfortable experience. The Taranaki product was in awe of the big names around her and felt a little out of place.
She finished fifth in her heat, recording 11.58 seconds, a time that placed her 39th among the 48 competitors, with the top 24 reaching the semifinals (the cut off was 11.31).
“From Doha to now, it’s completely different,” says Hobbs. “I was timid, didn’t feel like I belonged and of the mindset back then where I just wanted the experience and to hopefully grow from it. Heading into my third world championships now, my self-belief has evolved a lot and I have much bigger performance goals and outcomes.”
Hobbs has made rapid gains since 2019, improving her personal best time each season, from 11.54s to 10.96s. She’s also developed a happy knack of performing when it matters most and has a mental resilience that has enabled her to push through difficult moments.
New Zealand's fastest woman Zoe Hobbs. Photo / Photosport
It’s no coincidence. Hobbs has been pursuing an Olympics dream since she was a child on grass tracks in Taranaki and wasn’t going to be easily disavowed.
As hard as it is to believe now, as recently as last year Hobbs was still working full-time, after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition in 2021.
Her situation meant hitting the gym in the morning and track work at night, along with plenty of weekend sessions.
It was only the commitments needed for the three major meets last year - Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Paris Diamond League - that forced her to dial back to part-time work.
“No one really knows the sacrifices Zoe has made to get to where she is,” her coach James Mortimer told the Herald earlier this year. “She has been so dedicated, on a lot of levels.”
Recognition from High Performance Sport New Zealand took longer than it probably should have but Hobbs was eventually provided with funding levels that enabled her to focus solely on her sport.
“Work ended for me at the end of last year,” said Hobbs. “The change has been huge in terms of adding to performance.”
That’s been shown in her results, going under 11.10s eight times since then and breaking the magical 11 second barrier on four occasions. This season has been her longest time away, with eight meets across three continents, followed by the extended training camp in France.
“I’m constantly learning on tour and it challenges your resilience and perseverance at the best of times,” says Hobbs. “Self-managing away from your team and home always presents challenges. Fortunately with experience, I’ve learnt what works and what doesn’t work.”
It’s helped having her partner along for some of the ride this time, while coach Mortimer joined her a few weeks ago. Being part of a large Kiwi contingent in Europe has also been a boost.
Zoe Hobbs at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Mandatory credit: Simon Stacpoole / www.photosport.nz
The 25-year-old is humble but fiercely ambitious. She’s proud of her achievements this season, from performing at nationals soon after coming back from a hamstring injury to executing her a superb 10.97s race at the Sydney Track Classic, despite an immense amount of hype and pressure heading into it, following her (wind assisted) 10.89s in Wellington.
Last month provided another reminder of Hobbs’ capacity. Two days after the Diamond League event in Lausanne, she travelled across Switzerland for another meet that coincided with the first day of the Olympic qualifying window.
Physically she wasn’t feeling great but she still executed, clocking 10.96s to book her ticket to Paris at the first attempt.
Preparations have gone well – “Montpellier has brought the heat which is basically a sprinter’s haven,” jokes Hobbs, while access to full physiotherapist and conditioning support has made a “massive difference”.
“That has helped get the body moving a lot better,” says Hobbs. “I finally feel like things are starting to fire.”
At this level, the equation has changed considerably, ahead of the 100m heats on Sunday evening. The stretch goal is a berth in the final but even making the semifinals, as she did last year in Eugene by clocking 11.08s to finish second in her heat, isn’t straightforward, given the fine margins, though Hobbs shrugs off the expectations.
“The pressure is perceived differently,” says Hobbs. “All season [internationally] I’ve been a bit of an underdog and new addition to many of the races on the circuit like the Diamond League, so from that point of view there’s actually not a lot of pressure and expectation.
“My focus will be on executing the right race and trying to compose myself so I can run relaxed and just flow. It’s easier said than done but that’s the goal and if I can do that then the results will be there.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
