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Simon Stacpoole/Photosport
Nzubechi Nwokocha of Nigeria, left, has been disqualified from last year’s Commonwealth Games 100m final, moving Zoe Hobbs (centre) up one place to fifth.
New Zealand sprinter Zoe Hobbs has had her Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games placing upgraded following a doping violation by a fellow competitor.
Hobbs originally finished second in her heat and sixth in the final of the women’s 100m at Birmingham last August.
Following the disqualification of Nigerian Nzubechi Nwokocha, Hobbs’ results move to first in her heat and fifth in the final.
Nwokocha ran 10.99sec to beat Hobbs (11.09sec) in their heat in Birmingham, while just 0.01sec separated them in the final won by Jamaican sprint star Elaine Thompson-Herah.
Hobbs said in a statement on Saturday: “While it’s disappointing to see another doping case in sport, it’s good to know the system is working. I’m pleased to see my Commonwealth Games result upgraded as a result of the case.”
The 25-year-old is in top form in Europe this season. Earlier in July Hobbs smashed her own national 100m record to run a qualifying time for next year’s Paris Olympic Games.
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Zoe Hobbs set a blistering time of 10.96s in Switzerland but it came as a surprise to both her and her coach, James Mortimer.
Hobbs ran 10.96sec to win her women’s 100m heat at the Resisprint International meet in Switzerland, a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger event.
“When I saw the time come up I couldn’t believe it,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs is set to become the first New Zealand woman in 48 years to compete in the Olympic Games 100m, and the seventh overall.
Hobbs is scheduled to compete in the Diamond League meet in Silesia, Poland, on Monday (NZT) as a leadup to the world championships in Budapest.
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