Zoe Hobbs is among elite sprinters who have gone under 11 seconds for the 100m. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand's fastest ever female 100m sprinter is set to make her Olympic Games debut in Paris.
Zoe Hobbs went tantalisingly close to making the team for the Tokyo Olympics but has made certain of selection this time round.
In Sydney in March 2023 she became the first woman in Oceania to crack the 11-second mark for the blue riband event and repeated the feat in Switzerland four months later.
If the 26-year-old could make the final in the Stade de France on 4 August she would become the first Kiwi to reach such a pinnacle in 100 years. The last to do so was Arthur Porritt who won bronze at the Paris Games in 1924.
Taranaki-raised Auckland-based Hobbs has had loads of experience at competing against the world's elite sprinters and is primed for Paris.
"It's so exciting. I've had the dream of going to the Olympics since I was a little kid. I've been doing sports since the age of five and it's something I've always wanted to achieve.
"It's a real privilege, it's been a number of years since we've had a woman compete in the 100m for New Zealand and I'm really looking forward to it."
Hobbs has been running well in her buildup, winning a 100m race at a meet in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 16 July and placing sixth in the final in Monaco four days earlier.
Zoe Hobbs is finally realising her dream of competing at an Olympics. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Background
Born: 11 September 1997 in Hāwera
Heritage: Māori (Ngāruahine, Ngāti Ruanui)
First athletics club: Eltham
Attended: New Plymouth Girls' High School
Career: Athlete / co-founder of an athlete nutrition business
Olympic event: 100m sprint
Athletics record
- Eight times national champion in 100m sprint
- Twice Oceania champion
- Fourth in 60m final at world indoor champs in Glasgow in March 2024 - 0.01sec outside a medal
- Sixth in final of 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games
- World University Games bronze medallist
Biggest challenge awaits
Two dozen women have run under 11 seconds for the 100 metres this year, including US sprint queen Sha'Carri Richardson who ran 10.71sec at the US trials in Oregon in June.
However, Hobbs has shown the discipline for being a successful international athlete from early on.
"I made a lot of sacrifices in my teenage years, missing the classic teenage things like parties, socialising and so on. I doubted it was worth it sometimes. I was fearful I hadn't made the right decision," she told the Olympic team's website.
Now she's comfortable mixing it with the best.
"My self belief has evolved a lot and I have completely different performance goals," she said in an interview with Dana Johansen.
"I feel like I'm doing my bit to put sprinting on the map in New Zealand."