For the first time in fifty years, a new world record was set at the NCAA Outdoor Division 1 Track Championships! Here’s Deji’s take on the pending WR by Ja’Kobe Tharp!
Why Ja’Kobe Tharp’s world record feels like a new era for the 110m hurdles
When I spoke to Ja’Kobe Tharp at the East Regionals in Lexington, there was one dream sitting clearly in his mind, and it was the kind of dream every great sprint hurdler carries with quiet obsession: to run inside 13 seconds.
#inthemixedzone, Ja’Kobe Tharp surely upped his game at NCAA semi finals in the 110m hurdles! Ja’Kobe , needing the pressure of an NCAA semifinal ran 12.75 with a legal +1.0 m/s.
Ja’Kobe took .05 off the world record of Aries Merritt, 12.80 set in 2012.
The last time a world… pic.twitter.com/IfmcncMG2R
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) June 11, 2026
At the time, it felt like a natural next step for a young hurdler who was already moving like one of the most exciting athletes in the world, because Tharp had the speed, the rhythm, the confidence, and the championship edge to make that barrier feel close. He had already run 13.01, had already won NCAA titles, had already stepped onto the global stage, and had already shown that he could race against the best without shrinking from the moment.
Then Eugene happened, and his dream exploded into something almost impossible to process. In the heats of the NCAA Championships, with the final still waiting later in the week, Tharp produced one of the most breathtaking performances the event has ever seen, storming to a world record of 12.75s with a legal 1.0m/s wind and taking down Aries Merritt’s legendary 12.80s mark from 2012.
A man who had been chasing the 13-second barrier suddenly skipped past 12.90, skipped past 12.80, and landed in a place no hurdler had ever reached. The run itself looked violent yet smooth, a rare blend of power and precision that made the rest of the field look as if they were competing in a different race. Tharp came out of the blocks with intent, reached the first hurdle sharply, and from that point, every barrier seemed to push him further away from the athletes around him.
His lead leg snapped up quickly, came down with force, and carried him into the next stride with almost no wasted motion, and that is what makes him such a frightening talent in this event. At 6-foot-4, he has the frame that gives him range and presence, and the technical speed to get over hurdles like a smaller, sharper technician.
He is tall enough to eat up the track, quick enough to attack every barrier, and calm enough to make a world record in a preliminary round feel like part of a bigger journey rather than the final destination.
This performance did not come from nowhere, because Tharp has been building his name piece by piece over the last few years. He won the world U20 title in 2024, then won NCAA indoor and outdoor titles, then won the US Championships with a personal best of 13.01 before finishing sixth at the World Championships after a long and demanding season.
This year, he returned even sharper, retaining his NCAA indoor title in March with a world-leading 7.32 in the 60m hurdles, a time that moved him to third on the world all-time list and confirmed that his development was moving at a scary pace.
Now, Hayward Field in Eugene has become even more sacred for sprint hurdling, because the same track that already holds the women’s 100m hurdles world record through Tobi Amusan’s 12.12 in 2022 now also owns the men’s 110m hurdles world record through Tharp’s 12.75.
The question remains if Tharp can even go lower, considering he said he’s got left in the tank. Regardless of what happens in the final, the young lad has redefined a new era of men’s 110mH.
