LockerRoom: Zoe Hobbs, sprinter, wants five minutes more on the Olympic track

Zoe Hobbs in the Women's 100m Final at the Sydney Track Classic in March. Photo / Getty Images

LockerRoom

By Sarah Cowley Ross

“I need to stay in my lane rather than getting caught up in what’s going on around me.”

It seems a straightforward task for Kiwi 100m queen, Zoe Hobbs, on her mission to compete with distinction at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

“It’s easy to say, but it’s so hard to do when you’re in the intense environment of 100m.”

Over 11 seconds, every thousandth of a second matters, so Hobbs needs to be on from the gun to the finishline.

She can be a smidgen more relaxed this Kiwi summer though, having already achieved the World Athletics qualifying standard for the Olympic Games on the second day of the qualification window in July. Not having to chase the standard, Hobbs says, is a huge relief.

And it will give her time to fine-tune her technique and posture as she bursts out of the starting blocks.

At 990m above sea level at the La Chaux-de-Fonds meeting in Switzerland, Hobbs ran a personal best 10.96s to go under the standard.

“I’ve wanted to go to the Olympics since I was a kid,” she says. “My mind over the years has moved between self-doubt that I would never get there to now thinking it could be possible.”

By going under the 11.07s time, she now puts herself in serious contention for selection to the New Zealand Olympic team.

“It’s a different mindset for me. I have tunnel vision into the Olympic window and we’ve worked backwards with Paris as the end goal to create a plan for next year,” she says.

Armed with the Olympic qualifying time in her back pocket Hobbs says she’s now able to “not just race for the sake of racing”, allowing her to be more purposeful about her competition schedule in 2024.

That plan includes for her to open her 2024 domestic season at the Athletics New Zealand Potts Classic in Hastings on January 20. She’s also aiming to compete at the World Indoors champs in Glasgow in March.

A powerhouse out of the blocks and the first half of her 100m race, Hobbs competed in the 60m at the World Indoors in Belgrade in 2022, finishing 11th and setting a new Oceania record of 7.13s.

“It’s nice to put some focus into the 60m. I surprised myself with how well I did with little experience at World Indoors two years ago, so I’m really wanting to build on that for next year,” Hobbs says.

“It will also be refreshing to do something slightly different in the New Zealand season which will be beneficial for my 100m.”

With a laugh, Hobbs says that in the 60m you still go through the same acceleration phases out of the blocks – you just don’t have to run the last 40m of the race.

She’s likely to head to Europe in mid-February for some indoor meets ahead of the World Indoors and then return home to compete at the National Track and Field Championships in Wellington the following month.

It was at Newtown Park in Wellington this year that Hobbs broke her own national record in a relaxed-looking run in the 100m heats to record 11.07s. She followed that up with an unbelievable wind-assisted 10.89s in the final.

At the Sydney Track Classic a week later, she officially ducked under the 11-second barrier recording 10.97. In the process, she became the first and only woman from Oceania to break the elusive 11s.

Hobbs says that was a turning point – she is now a full-time professional athlete, putting her work as a nutritionist on hold. It’s something she never thought would be possible in her lifetime.

“It’s been great just reducing the chaos and stress. I’m enjoying the ride while it lasts,” she says.

Hobbs in full flight in the 100m semifinal in the world champs in Budapest in August. Photo / Getty Images

At the 2023 world champs, Hobbs finished 10th – narrowly missing a spot in the final by 0.01. She knows it will be the same line-up come Paris next year and is committed to doing everything possible to make the step up to the final.

Technical refinements including better postural control and increased gluteal muscle activation are what Hobbs’ team, led by coach James Mortimer, is focusing on in training right now.

“The big thing I’m working on is my posture and the position of my back out of the blocks,” she says.

“My back is really curved over from the very start that bleeds into when I’m upright running.”

Acknowledging that it’s difficult to make changes to her running technique once the acceleration phase is complete, Hobbs says having intent right from the starting blocks is a focus.

Aside from the physical adjustments, Hobbs says it’s also about being patient.

“The more experience and exposure that I get the better I’m getting at that — but for me, it’s about trusting in the process.”

Hobbs says having Mortimer at the world champs this year for the first time was ‘amazing’.

“Morty just really put me at ease. When I was warming up it was just great, he was keeping an eye on the time, telling me I was looking good out of the blocks which just gives you that extra confidence boost,” she says.

Ideally leading into Paris, Hobbs would also have better access to physiotherapy treatment. In the lead-up to Budapest, she was battling a niggly back. “It’s definitely something we’re looking to improve next year.”

After the 2024 nationals, Hobbs will remain in New Zealand for training with another build-up before the Oceania championships in Fiji en route to Europe in early June.

For now, it’s about finishing the training year strongly, which includes a session on Christmas Day before heading to the beach not far from her Auckland base so she can keep training.

When asked whether she’s thought what it will be like to stand behind her starting blocks in Paris next year, she says it will be emotional.

As a 100m sprinter, you don’t get a lot of time in the field of play to soak it up – you’re probably out on the Olympic track for five minutes.

“However many years I’ve been training for and get to that moment and getting to soak it all in, it’s quite crazy that it will be so short,” Hobbs says.

“Hopefully, I get more than 3 x 5 minutes.”

This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.