Who is Aleia Hobbs? American sprinter wins women's 100 meter final at Lausanne Diamond League 2022

The Diamond League season 2022 concluded its 12th stop in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday, August 26. The event saw some stellar action, just two weeks ahead of the Wanda Diamond League Final.

In a major highlight, American Aleia Hobbs won the women’s 100 meters final, surpassing Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in a photo finish.

The 100 meters event was a major highlight of the penultimate stage of the Diamond League 2022. The Lausanne event saw Aleia Hobbs take the win at the La Pontaise Olympic Stadium.

Hobbs’ win came as a shocker to many as she was up against five-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, both from the sprint powerhouse nation of Jamaica.

However, the tables turned after Fraser-Pryce was forced to back out of the race with an injury she sustained during the heats. Meanwhile, three-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah was disqualified for a false start, and Shericka Jackson received a warning during the course of the race.

Aleia Hobbs stepped up to the occasion and grabbed the victory, clocking a time of 10.87 seconds. Shericka Jackson came in second with a time of 10.88.

It is pertinent to note that Hobbs is only the second non-Jamaican sprinter to win a women's 100m title in the Diamond League this year. British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith had recorded a win earlier, in Birmingham.

Speaking about her triumph, Hobbs revealed that the win was her redemption at the Lausanne track.

"I had a good start today and I know that if I start well, I can get great times. I'm happy with the 10.87, it's another sub-10.9 for me. This is my first time running in Lausanne. Funnily enough, I was supposed to make my professional debut here a few years ago and I got injured and couldn't race. So, it's great to finally be able to run on this track."

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Who is Aleia Hobbs?

Aleia Hobbs is just 26 years old but already has a distinguished racing history. Hobbs, a New Orleans, Louisiana, native, started off as an LSU Lady Tigers runner in 2014.

During this time, she also represented the US at the 2015 Pan American Junior Championships. The athlete won a silver medal in the 100m and a gold medal in the 4x100m relay at the junior events.

Hobbs would then go on to win four national titles in 2018. She took the top prize in winning the 60m at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, 100m and the 4X100m relay at the NCAA Division I Championships, and the 100m at the US Championships.

Following this, she went on to represent the US contingent in the 4X100m relay at the 2019 World Relay Championships, where she won gold.

She repeated the result in the relay event at the 2022 World Championships held in Eugene. Apart from this, Hobbs also won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the 4X100m relay team. For individual medals, Hobbs won the 100m event at the Shanghai Diamond League in 2019.

Aleia Hobbs currently has a large fan base, having earned several national and international accolades in such a short period of time. The young athlete is being looked upon as a potential threat to sprinters at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

The athlete has been in the spotlight for some time now and is looking promising at international events.