Ahead of the biggest race of her life, sprinter Zoe Hobbs will spend up to 30 minutes cloistered in a small room with her rivals. There’s usually minimal eye contact, no headphones permitted and not much, if any conversation.
Welcome to the unusual world of the athletics call room. It’s something that would be impossible to imagine in most team sports – and many individual pursuits – but is part of the fabric of track and field, especially when there are so many events happening within a session.
“It’s tense but that’s just part of big races,” Hobbs tells the Herald. “Even in Diamond League, it can be up to 30 minutes of just sitting in a call room. You have an opening entry time and a closing entry time and you need to make sure you get into the call room within that window.”
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Across the period there are different phases, from being in a tracksuit and sneakers to putting race numbers on competition kit and getting your running spikes checked for compliance.
“Throughout that whole process, you are with your race, with your competitors so it can feel quite tense. It’s just a lot of suspense in the lead-up to the race,” said Hobbs.
Zoe Hobbs from New Zealand in the women’s 100m heat. Photo / Photosport
Zoe Hobbs from New Zealand in the women’s 100m heat. Photo / Photosport
Like every aspect of her career, she has adjusted with time and experience of big competition.
