News & Updates

Following hot on the heels of her stunning Oceania women’s 100m record time of 11.07 in the morning heats, Zoe Hobbs recorded an eye-popping 10.89 (3.4m/s) – the fastest time ever recorded for the women’s 100m in New Zealand in all conditions – at the 2023 Jennian Homes New Zealand Track & Field Championships in Wellington.

While the wind disallowed the mark for record purposes, it was an awe-inspiring mark by the 25-year-old Auckland-based athlete, which was faster than the previous quickest in all conditions set by Jamaican Merlene Ottey when winning the 1990 Commonwealth final in Auckland of 11.02 (4.4m/s).

Competing in her first competition of the year, Hobbs ‘performance offers huge optimism for what she can achieve for the remainder of the year leading into her primary goal for the year at the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest in August.

Hobbs said of her performance: “I was a little surprised coming back from injury as I had a little interruption, so I didn’t expect to open the season that well, but they have been indicators in training. It was just a matter of putting it together in a race. To actually go out and run so well was awesome.”

“The performance in the heats gave me a boost of confidence and I thought I was capable because I finished that race just wanting to close the race down. It was running loose, so I knew I had a bit more to give in the final, I knew there was the capability for more.”

In the heats, Hobbs set an Oceania record, New Zealand record, New Zealand resident record, New Zealand allcomers record and entry standard time for the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Behind Hobbs, Rosie Elliott (Canterbury) recorded 11.36 for silver with Veronica Shanti Periera of Singapore in 11.44 crossing the line in third. Brooke Somerfield of Waikato Bay of Plenty (11.51) claimed the bronze.

Results here

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