Ja'Kobe Tharp shatters 110m hurdles world record with 12.75 at NCAA championships
American Ja'Kobe Tharp ran 12.75 seconds in the NCAA semifinals, erasing Aries Merritt’s 2012 world record by five hundredths and becoming the first athlete since 1976 to set a world mark at the college meet.
Record falls in Eugene
Ja'Kobe Tharp, a 20‑year‑old Auburn University junior, clocked 12.75 seconds in the semi‑final round of the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Hayward Field on Wednesday. The time, run with a legal tailwind of 1.0 m/s, cut 0.05 seconds off the previous world record of 12.80 set by fellow American Aries Merritt in Brussels in 2012. Tharp also shattered the collegiate record of 12.98 that had belonged to Grant Holloway.
I knew I had that in my legs. But it wasn't on my bingo card before this meet, not at all.
Historic feat at the college meet
The run made Tharp the first individual to break a world record at an NCAA championship since high jumper Dwight Stones did so in 1976. The performance still requires ratification by World Athletics, but the fully automatic timing and legal wind reading leave little doubt. Before the race, Tharp’s personal best stood at 13.01 seconds; he improved by 0.26 seconds, a leap that propelled him past the all‑time bests of Merritt (12.80), Holloway (12.81) and Devon Allen (12.84).
- Ja'Kobe Tharp
- 12.75 s
- Aries Merritt
- 12.8 s
- Grant Holloway
- 12.81 s
- Devon Allen
- 12.84 s
From prodigy to world‑beater
Tharp’s rise has been rapid. He won the under‑20 world title in 2024, then swept NCAA indoor and outdoor crowns in 2025 while also taking the U.S. championship in a then‑PB of 13.01. At the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo he finished sixth. In this indoor season he defended his NCAA indoor title with a 60‑metre hurdles time of 7.32 seconds, the third‑fastest effort in history and only five hundredths off Holloway’s world record in the short‑track event. Entering the outdoor season unbeaten, he had already signalled readiness for a breakthrough.
- Wins U20 world championship
- Claims NCAA indoor and outdoor titles; wins US championships (13.01 PB)
- Finishes 6th in World Championships in Tokyo
- Defends NCAA indoor title with 7.32 (third fastest all-time)
- Breaks 110m hurdles world record in 12.75
I really wanted to make a statement today, I really honed in on execution, surviving and advancing.
Looking ahead
Tharp stressed that the semi‑final was not a perfect race and suggested there is more to come. “12.75? I have more in my legs,” he told television crews. The 110 metres hurdles final is scheduled for Friday at Hayward Field, where the world’s freshly minted fastest man will have another chance to lower the mark.
