June 11 (Reuters) - American Ja'Kobe Tharp broke the 110 metres hurdles world record with a blistering time of 12.75 seconds at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on Wednesday.
Tharp's effort in the heats of the 110m hurdles improved upon the previous world record mark of 12.80s, set by Olympic champion Aries Merritt in 2012.
"I knew I had that in my legs. But it wasn't on my bingo card before this meet, not at all," the 20-year-old told reporters after the race.
"I was going pretty fast. The last three hurdles were kind of iffy. I was like, 'Whoa, I'm coming up kind of fast.' I thought maybe 12.97 or 12.98, and match the speed record. But to see that, it was like, 'Ahhhh!' I'm speechless, seriously...
"I really wanted to make a statement today, I really honed in on execution, surviving and advancing. But today I really wanted to send that message that I'm here and they gotta come see me."
Tharp, an under-20s world champion, competed in the 110m hurdles final at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, finishing sixth.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
