EUGENE, Oregon
Date: Thursday, 11 June 2026
An action-packed opening day (10 June) at the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships saw Ja'Kobe Tharp rewrite the record books with a world-record 12.75-second performance in the men's 110m hurdles semi-finals, eclipsing the previous mark of 12.80 set by Olympic champion Aries Merritt in 2012.
The energized crowd kept the cheers going as Eritrea's Habtom Samuel delivered the first men's track title of the annual collegiate championships in the US, reclaiming the men's 10,000m title. The New Mexico Junior won the NCAA crown in 2024 before finishing runner-up in 2025, returning to the top of the podium again with a winning time of 27:51.31.
Kenya's Elsingi Kipruto finished second in 27:54.04, while fellow Kenyan Ernest Cheruiyot repeated in third place, crossing the line in 27:58.62.
Men’s semi-final track action continued through the afternoon, with finals slated for Friday, 12 June.
In the field events, the men’s hammer saw Greece’s Angelos Mantzouranis take the win with a throw of 75.78m, followed by the United States' Texas Tanner (75.45m) and Ryan Johnson (74.40m).
Action continued with pole vault finals, highlighted by Logan Hammer achieving a personal best height of 5.75m, while Nigeria’s Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi threw 82.26m to claim victory in the men’s javelin.
The men’s long jump competition saw Zimbabwe’s Tafadzwa Chikomba win with a personal best distance of 8.37m. Oregon’s Ben Smith also earned a personal best of 21.04m in shot put.
The busy session also featured the start of the men’s decathlon, which saw Ben Barton take the day one lead thanks in part to wins in the 100m, 400m and high jump totaling 4,414 points.
