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Regional | 100 metres

'Oh my God': Zoe Hobbs clocks 10.97 secs for 100m in Sydney

Brendon Thorne / Getty Images

Sprint star Zoe Hobbs has her first official sub-11 second time for the 100m after she obliterated the field in Australia on Saturday in a scorching 10.97 seconds.

“I saw the time and I’m like, ‘oh my God, I don’t want to get too excited’ just in case it wasn’t legal," Hobbs said.

The 25-year-old became the first New Zealand woman to run under 11 seconds for the 100 metres.

@oceaniaathletics AREA RECORD🚨 SUB 11-SECOND RUN 🚨🤯 Zoe Hobbs (Athletics New Zealand ) has broken the 11-second barrier with a time of 10.97 in the Women's 100m Final at the Sydney Track Classic! #ContinentalTour @WorldAthletics ♬ original sound - Oceania Athletics

Hobbs set the fastest women's 100 metres time in Australia with an all-comers record that eclipsed the previous record of 10.99 set by Greece's Ekaterini Thanou at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, an Australian Associated Press report says.

Star US sprinter Marion Jones ran faster at the Sydney Olympics but her performance was erased after she admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs, it says.

Hobbs' sub-11 comes off the back of her sensational 10.89 sec sprint at the New Zealand championships in Wellington last Friday which was ruled out as a record due to a tailwind.

That was the first time she has gone under 11 seconds in her career - and now she has done it again.

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Kelvin McDonald
Kelvin McDonald

Kelvin McDonald has been part of our Whakaata Māori newsroom since 2007. Formerly a researcher for Native Affairs, Kelvin has since moved across to our Online News Team where his new role as Digital Video Editor utilises his years of experience and skills in research, editing and reporting.