Ja’Kobe Tharp broke the world record in the 110-meter hurdles during the U.S. college championship playoffs on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old from Auburn, Alabama, clocked 12.75 seconds at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) event in Eugene, Oregon.
The previous record of 12.80 was set by fellow American Aries Merritt in Brussels in September 2012.
Reigning Olympic champion Grant Holloway set the previous collegiate record of 12.98 in 2019.
Tharp is the first athlete to set a world record at the NCAA Championships in 50 years.
His previous best was 13.01 and, although he came into the meet expecting to beat it, he didn’t expect to take more than a quarter of a second off that mark and set a world record.
“I knew I was ready to do something crazy,” he told reporters.
“I knew what he was capable of, but I didn’t know anything about it.
“It wasn’t on my bingo board for this match at all. I’m speechless, seriously.”
Tharp will compete in the finals on Friday, when he aims to become the first hurdler since Holloway in 2019 to win a second consecutive NCAA title.