Aleia Hobbs Seeks Answers From Track & Field After Emotional Breakdown Over Sensitive Moment

ALEIA HOBBS IS BACK ON THE USA TEAM! The last time was the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, where she placed sixth in the individual 100 m and earned a gold medal as part of the U.S. 4×100 m relay squad . Throughout 2023 and into early 2024 and even early 2025, she was hampered by injuries, including back-to-back Achilles problems, a hamstring strain, and a calf cramp that forced her to withdraw from various events. But now she has finally raced the trials, and she is going to Tokyo.

Under the lights of Hayward Field, Aleia Hobbs lined up for the women’s 100 m final with everything on the line. After a shaky semifinal at 11.10 seconds, she needed a big finish, and she delivered. She burst from the blocks and swept past her rivals to 10.92, securing third behind Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (10.65) and Kayla White (10.84). This was no mere podium finish; this was the ticket to carry her to the World Championships in Tokyo. And now, she sends a message to the track and field community.

The Olympian took to her official X handle to upload a picture of a vertical collage. The picture on the upper side was of Hobbs herself after she had won the 100m finals in the trials yesterday, and the other one was of her son, Amir. The caption read, “Don’t know if I stole my son’s crying face or he stole mine 😂😂”. In this heartwarming and humorous photo, Aleia Hobbs and her son are captured wearing nearly identical emotional expressions. Both faces show the classic trying-not-to-cry look, teary eyes, furrowed brows, and tightly pursed lips curved downward.

It was a great example of how facial expressions can be shared so strongly between parent and child, especially those dramatic, scrunched-up, trying-not-to-cry faces. Amir has become more than just a source of joy for Hobbs. The bond between the two runs great; she is an inspirational parent, and he’s her motivation for track. “I’m not just doing it for me,” Hobbs said in an interview. “Anything I do, it’s like I’m a reflection of him.”.

This was not the first time Hobbs cried during the USA trials. Back in 2021, she was seen crying after she was ruled out for a false start in her women’s 100 m semifinal. Seconds before the final, her coach’s protest was upheld, she was reinstated, and clocked 11.20s to finish 7th. But these instances date back to 2021. She was also captured crying at the 2025 national trails after her race.

Aleia Hobbs broke down after her race

After making her first US team in three years, Hobbs broke down in tears. Oh, it was hard. I’m not going to lie. It was a time I was literally at my lowest, like, like I was…” The track and field athlete could only say that much in the post-race interview on August 1st before her hand went over her mouth. Tears of joy filled Aleia Hobbs’ eyes, not only because she overcame the criticism of the internet, but because she earned her first U.S. team spot in three years. After battling injuries, she had finally returned to the level she once reached.

After undergoing two micro-fracture knee surgeries in college, she suffered a broken left wrist from a fall at the 2023 U.S. Indoor Championships—just weeks after running a stunning 6.94 s. In 2024, she had to withdraw from the 60 m final at World Indoors in Glasgow due to a painful calf cramp, leaving the track in a wheelchair. Then, as defending champion at the 2025 U.S. Indoors, she scratched the 60 m, citing injury concerns. What a comeback for the athlete, don’t you think?