Aleia Hobbs “Locked In” Like Never Before

UNDEFEATED ON THE YEAR so far, the American Record holder in the indoor 60 since February and with an infant son advancing rapidly toward toddler status, Aleia Hobbs is having her best spring yet. Now 27, she is rarin’ & ready to make some noise in the 100.

The century winner at both the NCAA and USATF Champs of ’18 for LSU, Hobbs is coached to this day by Bayou Bengal head Dennis Shaver.

“We’ve kind of been more dialed in,” she says of their preparation. “Also, by being healthy I’ve been able to actually train and do the workouts that I need to do. And I’ve been locked in way more. It’s crazy.”

Since dashing to the USATF 60 title in February with an AR 6.94, Hobbs raced to 10.87, 10.86 and 11.04 wins in 100s on her Baton Rouge home track in April. She dispatched accomplished sprinters each time — among them training partner Mikiah Brisco, Tamari Davis and past AJR setter Candace Hill.

A decided “no stopping her” vibe has suffused Hobbs’s races throughout the current campaign now just edging toward its midseason stride. She broke into a thousand-watt smile, jumped and waved her arms in jubilation after the 60 AR in Albuquerque even though she broke a hand in a fall as she decelerated. That’s spirited determination reminiscent of the Hobbs who splashed through deep puddles to her NCAA 100 title in ’18 — only this Hobbs is faster.

In the 100 this summer, Hobbs guesses, “10.6, 10.7 is definitely in the ballpark. If I could run a 60 like I’ve been running it and actually add the extra meters to it, it is definitely there. I just have to actually get the race down pat and hit every phase and it’ll come. The time will come.”

In her first May meet on the street track specially constructed for the Atlanta City Games Hobbs reeled off a 10.93 heat and 10.99 final for the win from Brisco, next to whom she has sprinted countless training reps.

In workouts, Hobbs says of her friend and fellow Louisiana native and LSU alum, “We line up together every time and we’ve been doing it since 2014” — fast friends and rivals.

“We actually manage that pretty good, like friendship-wise and knowing that we’re about to line up and race each other too,” Hobbs says. “Before the race we tell each other good luck. While I tell her, ‘Make sure you focus on this,’ she’ll tell me, ‘Make sure you focus…