Day 4 IAAF World Champs: Zoe Hobbs 6th in 200m Heat

In her second event at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Zoe Hobbs lined up in the first of six heats for the women’s 200m. The New Zealand champion started well but could not hold on down the straight, finishing sixth in 23.94.

The 22 year old spoke about her first experience in the black singlet. “It’s pretty cool to step out there on the world stage and I’ve worked pretty hard for this moment. Not the best results but just to be here is pretty awesome. I’m stoked to get my first one under way and then learn from this and move from there.”

Rio Olympic silver medallist and defending world champion Dafne Schippers had been drawn in lane 9 alongside Zoe but unfortunately had to withdraw due to injury. “I was a little bit gutted that she wasn’t in there it would have been cool to race her. She would have been on the outside and I would have liked to tried to challenge and chase her.”

Next for Zoe is a bit of a break before building up into the New Zealand domestic season and looking ahead to Tokyo. “It’s been a pretty big year of racing, I think I’ve done over 40 races this year, which is pretty intense. It’s been a lot of peak and drop down, so I just need a bit of a physical and mental break and then get ready to hit it hard again and to Tokyo hopefully.”

Zoe, 22, has made a huge breakthrough this year, advancing her 100m personal best to 11.37 – within 0.05 of Michelle Seymour’s 26-year-old New Zealand record. A last minute invitation for Zoe to join the 200m was further recognition of how the young sprinter has advanced.

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