Commonwealth Games: Zoe Hobbs sprints her way into NZ sporting history

Zoe Hobbs has sprinted her way into New Zealand sporting history at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the women's 100m.On a cold, drizzly evening at Scotstoun Stadium, the Kiwi sprint queen produced a blistering run to clock 10.93 seconds, beating her own Oceania record and delivering New Zealand's first Commonwealth Games medal in the event.In a tight race for the remaining podium spots, England's Amy Hunt claimed silver in 10.98 seconds, while Australia's Torrie Lewis finished third in 10.99.The enormity of the moment was still sinking in when an emotional Hobbs fronted the media minutes later."It makes me a little bit emotional," Hobbs told RNZ."I've just been doing this for so long now. It's not a traditional pathway in New Zealand for athletics.I don't think many people would have thought that I could walk away with a gold other than my team."So to have that proof in the pudding and to have that gold medal, it's really hard to put into words. But yeah, I'm stoked."Hobbs qualified fourth-fastest for the final after finishing second in her semifinal in 11.04 seconds behind Hunt, but found another gear when it mattered most.Racing in the third of three semifinals, Hobbs' experienced the worst of the miserable conditions in Glasgow on Tuesday night local time, with the rain bucketing down just as the athletes were being introduced to the stadium."I was drawn a pretty tough semifinal with both Amy [Hunt] and [Jamaican] Janelle Smith," said Hobbs."I knew I had to execute right from the start and just reset going into that final. So I was really just taking it one step at a time and I think that's what helped me tonight - just following my processes, not getting tied up too much in results."I executed a really good race."The women's semifinals of the 100m were raced in driving rain.Michael Steele/Getty ImagesThe conditions only added to the magnitude of Hobbs' achievement.Persistent rain left the Scotstoun track soaked throughout the evening, with Hobbs describing her semifinal as unlike anything she had experienced."That semifinal was something else. I don't think I've ever run in rain quite like that," she said."I was actually a little bit blind on the start line because I couldn't wipe my face because I was wearing makeup and I was getting blurred vision. Every single step on the track as you came out of the blocks and smashed the track, there was water splattering everywhere. My shoes were saturated."I chose to wear tights in that race, which was probably a mistake because they got a little bit heavy. For sprinting conditions, it's not ideal to be running on a wet track or in the cold."So with both of those factors considered, to walk away with the PB as well as the gold is just crazy.""I'm in the form of my life and so I'm really excited to see what we can do if we can get some hot conditions with a good tailwind because there was also pretty still air tonight - the flags weren't really moving."Hobbs' stunning win capped off a memorable night in the track and field for New Zealand, with Lauren Bruce winning silver in the women's hammer throw moments before the sprinter took to the track.Lauren Bruce completed her redemption story in Glasgow after her Birmingham Commonwealth Games ended in heartbreak.Michael Steele/Getty ImagesIn challenging conditions, with the throwing circle at times resembling a swimming pool, Bruce finished second behind Canada's Camryn Rogers with a best throw of 69.82m.Rogers, a two-time world champion in the event, blitzed the field with a Commonwealth Games record throw of 74.91m.Bruce was in bronze medal position after the first three throws, after which the field was culled to the top eight. She then improved on her mark with a confident throw in the fourth round, to overtake Australia's Lara Roberts.The silver medal completed a redemption story for Bruce, who failed to record a legal throw in qualifying at the Birmingham Games four years ago.