Auburn University hurdler Ja'Kobe Tharp shattered the 110-meter hurdles world record by clocking 12.75 seconds during the preliminaries of the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The junior athlete lowered his previous personal best of 13.01 seconds, which he set last summer during his USATF outdoor title victory, to establish the first world record performance at an NCAA meet in 50 years.
Tharp prepared for the historic race by watching videos of iconic performances, including Aries Merritt's 2012 world record of 12.80 seconds and Grant Holloway's 2019 collegiate record of 12.98 seconds.
"I watch a couple fast races, and I can be like, 'I can do that,'" said Tharp.
The runner entered the preliminary heat focused on sending a clear message to his competitors, who had run times within a tenth of a second of his seasonal best of 13.05 seconds earlier this year.
"I knew I was in shape," said Tharp.
The athlete adjusted his technique from his freshman year, executing a seven-step approach to the first hurdle while concentrating on finishing every hurdle to avoid a snowball effect.
"But that … that's kind of crazy," said Tharp.
Tharp pulled away from the competitive field between the third and fourth hurdles, extending his lead across the second half of the track as he realized his exceptional pace.
"I just wanted to go out and send a message to everybody else that I'm here because I know earlier in the season, people ran the same time as me," said Tharp.
The performance left the runner processing the magnitude of his achievement while keeping his immediate focus locked on the upcoming championship final.
"I just wanted to show everybody that I'm here. And I'm here to stay," said Tharp.
Tharp emphasized that his mindset remains unchanged despite the record-breaking run, as he seeks to secure the collegiate title for his team.
"Because if you rush, it'll push you on to the next one and the next one, a snowball effect," said Tharp.
The victory adds to a collegiate career that includes a sophomore indoor 60-meter hurdle title and a sixth-place finish at the world championships.
"You'll end up with them all in your face," said Tharp.
The track star noted that he expected to break the 13-second barrier rather than surpass the long-standing global mark during the preliminary round.
"Whoa," said Tharp.
Tharp maintained that he must complete the final race of the competition before he can fully appreciate the global record.
"Those hurdles are coming up pretty fast," said Tharp.
The Auburn track program enjoyed a dominant opening session, which included a collegiate record of 37.75 seconds in the 4x100 relay heats.
"I mean, I'm still at a loss for words," said Tharp.
The athletic progression of the hurdler has been evident to his coaches and teammates since his arrival at the university program in 2024.
"Nothing has changed," said Tharp.
The record-breaking performance directly contributed to Auburn's strong position in the overall national team title race.
"The job's not finished. What can I say?
I have one more race to handle business, and then I can kind of sit back and relax – OK, this happened.
What now? Right now, I'm focused on the task at hand," said Tharp.
Auburn hurdles coach Ken Harnden heard the historic time announced while working with other student-athletes at the warm-up track.
"That can't be right. Or it's got to be windy," said Harnden.
Harnden expressed confidence in the physical and mental preparation that paved the way for the milestone achievement in Oregon.
"I felt like he could run fast here," said Harnden.
The coaching staff indicated that the athlete timed his competitive peak perfectly by focusing intently on his physical condition and preparation routines.
"Now, 12.92 would have been fast here – we would all have been standing right here just the same way.
So I think he's done everything right.
He's peaked the right way, he's locked in on his body, he's doing all the things that great athletes do," said Harnden.
Senior teammate Azeem Fahmi noted that the record-breaking hurdler demonstrated an elite competitive drive from his first days on campus.
"He competed every day," said Fahmi.
Fahmi observed that the runner maintained this intense standard across all aspects of his daily training regimen, including track sessions and weight room workouts.
"Coming to practice, on the track, compete. Coming into the weight room, lifting, compete.
So he has that kind of mentality that I would say not a lot of athletes have," said Fahmi.
Fellow senior sprinter Tyler Davis stated that the historic achievement reflected the daily dedication shown by the young hurdler during team practices.
"He's a hard worker," said Davis.
Davis added that the athlete thrives when facing high-stakes competitive environments, which fuels his continuous improvement on the track.
"Hard worker. Like, there's never a day he doesn't want to get better.
He lives for the pressure. It makes him," said Davis.
