Zoe Hobbs has raised the bar for Oceania sprinting, surpassing her own 100m record with a 10.94 second run at the prestigious Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The Ngāruahine sprinter finished third in a world-class field at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Meeting, improving on her previous record of 10.96 seconds set just weeks ago.
Hobbs powered out of the blocks with a strong start and held her form against some of the world's best.
The race was won by Liberia's Thelma Davies in a national record of 10.91 seconds, just edging out Ivory Coast's Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, who ran 10.92.
"All I know is that was a really good start," Hobbs said.
"I came out really low, almost stumbled, managed to hold it and then maybe at about 30 I was still ahead."
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Despite finishing behind Davies and Ta Lou-Smith, Hobbs was thrilled with the result - a new personal best, national record, and Oceania record, all in one.
"I'm mind blown but I'm super stoked," she said.
The record-breaking run marks a major return to form after a steady build-up in training.
While Hobbs had shown signs of speed earlier in the season, the breakthrough hadn't come until now.
"I've been in good form lately with training - the last 2-3 weeks has been really consistent... it just hasn't quite shown in results," she said.
With Paris on the horizon and her form peaking at the right time, Hobbs has firmly established herself as one of the fastest sprinters not just in New Zealand and Oceania, but on the world stage.
