Twenty-year-old Ja'Kobe Tharp has made history by clocking 12.75 seconds in the 110M hurdles at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship heats in Eugene to set a new world record.
He surpassed current record holder and Olympic champion Aries Merritt, who clocked 12.80 seconds in 2012.
Tharp has become the first athlete after Dwight Stones to break a world record at the NCAA championships. Stones achieved it 50 years ago for high-jump.
"I knew I had that in my legs. But it wasn't on my bingo card before this meet, not at all," the 20-year-old told reporters after the race. "I was going pretty fast. The last three hurdles were kind of iffy. I was like, 'Whoa, I'm coming up kind of fast.' I thought maybe 12.97 or 12.98, and match the speed record. But to see that, it was like, 'Ahhhh!' I'm speechless, seriously...
"I really wanted to make a statement today, I really honed in on execution, surviving and advancing. But today I really wanted to send that message that I'm here and they gotta come see me."
Tharp, an under-20s world champion, competed in the 110m hurdles final at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, finishing sixth.
Watch Ja'Kobe Tharp 🇺🇸 storm to a World Record of 12.75s (1.0) in the men's 110mH prelims at the NCAA Championships!
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) June 11, 2026
Aries Merritt held the previous record at 12.80s.pic.twitter.com/pHt8zq7L2P
Tharp will compete in the final on Friday.
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