The American is five hundredths of a second off Aries Merritt’s world record, which was set in 2012.
Ja’Koby Tharp pulled off one of the greatest performances in collegiate track and field history by breaking the world record in the 110m hurdles during the heats of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday (June 11).
The 20-year-old Auburn University athlete clocked a stunning 12.75 (1.4m), five hundredths of a second off the long-standing world record of 12.80 set by American Aries Merritt in Brussels 2012.
In doing so, Tharp also broke the collegiate record of 12.98 set by 2019 Olympic champion Grant Holloway and became the first high jumper since Dwight Stones in 50 years to set a world record at the NCAA Championships.
The performance marked a remarkable improvement for the Alabama native, whose previous personal best was 13.01. While Tharpe arrived in Eugene confident of bettering that mark, even he couldn’t have anticipated such a dramatic leap into the record books.
“I knew I was ready to drop something crazy,” he said. “I knew what I was capable of, but I didn’t know it.
“It wasn’t on my bingo chart for this match at all. I’m speechless, seriously.”
Tharpe won the world under-20 title in 2024 and then won the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles a year later. He also won last year’s US Championships before finishing sixth at the World Championships finals in Tokyo.
Tharp will return to Hayward Field on Friday, aiming to successfully defend his NCAA title and become the first men’s hurdler since Holloway in 2019 to win back-to-back collegiate crowns.
