EUGENE, Ore. In what is being hailed as one of the most stunning performances in collegiate track history, Auburn junior Ja’Kobe Tharp shattered the world record in the 110-meter hurdles on Wednesday, clocking an astonishing 12.75 seconds in the semifinal round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field .
The 20-year-old from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, didn’t just win his heat; he obliterated a mark that had stood for nearly 14 years, eclipsing the previous world record of 12.80 set by American Aries Merritt in 2012 . In doing so, Tharp became the first athlete since high jumper Dwight Stones in 1976 to break a world record at the NCAA championships .
“I’m speechless, seriously,” Tharp told reporters moments after seeing his time flash on the board. “I didn’t mean to. I knew I had that in my legs, but it wasn’t on my bingo card before this meet—not at all” .
A Record-Breaking Performance
Tharp entered the meet with a personal best of 13.01 seconds, set just last summer. On Wednesday, he smashed that mark by a staggering .26 seconds, also breaking Grant Holloway’s collegiate record of 12.98 . The performance was remarkably efficient; Tharp finished more than a quarter of a second ahead of Texas’s Kendrick Smallwood, who ran 13.06 .
Despite the historic nature of the run, Tharp insisted it was not a flawless race. Flashing the confidence of a true champion, he noted that he stumbled technically over the final barriers.
“It felt fast, but all my races feel fast, to be honest,” Tharp said. “The last three hurdles were kind of iffy. I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m coming up kind of fast.’ This round was about getting through, surviving and advancing. This is a huge bonus” .
He admitted he thought he might be running 12.97 or 12.98. “But to see that, it was like, ‘Ahhhh.’ I’m speechless, seriously” .
Tiger Legacy and National Reaction
Tharp’s achievement has sent shockwaves through the Auburn program, which has watched its star hurdler develop into a global force. Already the holder of multiple school records, Tharp is the reigning NCAA Outdoor Champion (2025), NCAA Indoor Champion (2025, 2026), and the 2025 USATF National Champion . He was also a finalist at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo .
“Ja’Kobe continues to redefine what is possible,” Auburn track and field head coach Leroy Burrell said in a statement. “To execute a world record in a preliminary round, while knowing you have a final still to run, speaks to his maturity and rare competitive genius. He is a once-in-a-generation talent.”
The world record is currently pending standard ratification procedures by World Athletics, but the track community has universally accepted the performance .
Eyes on the Prize
While the world celebrated the record, Tharp was quick to redirect his focus. He returns to the track on Friday for the final, where he will look to defend his national title and complete one of the most dominant weeks in NCAA history.
“I’m trying to focus on what’s here in front of me,” Tharp said. “I’ve still got to finish it in two days, so I’m still focused on that. I really wanted to send that message that I’m here and they gotta come see me” .
When asked what comes next after breaking a world record as a junior in college, Tharp’s gaze shifted toward the future.
“It feels good to have the record, but I don’t want to look too far in the future,” he told Olympics. “That’s one check mark on the list, right? I do want to be Olympic champion for sure. That’s probably the biggest goal now looking forward” .
Tharp will attempt to become the first athlete since Grant Holloway in 2019 to win back-to-back NCAA hurdle titles when the final takes place Friday at 8:12 p.m. ET .
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