Jacob Tharp set a world record in the 110m hurdles at the NCAA Championships

Jacob Tharp broke the 110m hurdles world record during the heats at the US collegiate championships on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old from Auburn, Alabama, clocked 12.75 seconds at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA) event in Eugene, Oregon.

The previous record of 12.80 was set by American Aris Merritt in Brussels in September 2012.

Reigning Olympic champion Grant Holloway set the college record of 12.98 in 2019.

Tharp is the first athlete in 50 years to set a world record at the NCAA Championships.

His previous best was 13.01 and although he came into the games expecting to beat that, he didn’t expect to take more than a quarter of a second off the world record.

“I knew I was ready to throw something crazy,” he told reporters.

“I knew what I was capable of, but I didn’t know about that.

“It wasn’t on my bingo table for this meeting, ever. I’m speechless, seriously.”

Tharp will compete on Friday as he looks to become the first hurdler since Holloway in 2019.