Ja'Kobe Tharp broke the world record in the 110m hurdles with a time of 12.75 seconds on Wednesday night in Eugene, Oregon, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The 20-year-old American improved the previous world record of 12.80 seconds, held by Aries Merritt since 2012, by five hundredths of a second.
A time recorded in the semi-final
The Auburn University runner achieved this feat in the semifinals at Hayward Field. The wind speed of +1,0 m/s validates the performance. Tharp won his heat decisively and qualified for the final, scheduled for Friday evening.
The first man under 12.80 seconds
With this 12.75, Tharp became the first hurdler to break the 12.80 barrier in the 110m hurdles. He already held a solid reputation on the American college circuit: reigning NCAA champion, US champion, and U20 world champion.
A sudden increase
Before this thunderbolt, his official personal best in the 110m hurdles was 13.01, set in 2025. In one evening, Tharp therefore changed scale: he not only won a university race, he recorded the fastest time in the history of his discipline.
