In a stunning upset that has sent shockwaves through the global track and field community, 20-year-old Ja’Kobe Tharp, a junior sprinter-hurdler at Auburn University, has broken the long-standing men’s 110m hurdles world record during the preliminary heats of the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, on Wednesday.
Tharp crossed the finish line with an official time of 12.75 seconds, beating the previous world record of 12.80 seconds set by fellow American athlete Aries Merritt back in September 2012 at the Brussels Diamond League. The new mark also improves the long-standing collegiate record of 12.98 seconds, which was set by reigning Olympic champion Grant Holloway back in 2019.
This historic achievement marks the first time in half a century that an athlete has set a new senior world record at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, a testament to the rising talent and competitive depth of collegiate track and field in the United States.
Coming into the national meet, Tharp held a personal best time of 13.01 seconds. While he acknowledged he had prepared extensively and was confident he would lower his own best mark, he never anticipated cutting more than a quarter of a second off his previous top time to claim the world record.
“I knew I was ready to drop something crazy,” Tharp told reporters after his historic run. “I knew what I was capable of, but I didn’t know about that. It wasn’t on my bingo chart for this meet, not at all. I’m speechless, seriously.”
Tharp, who hails from Auburn, Alabama, will now advance to the 110m hurdles final, scheduled to take place this Friday. He is gunning for his second consecutive NCAA individual title, a feat no hurdler has achieved since Grant Holloway claimed back-to-back titles in 2019.