Ja’Kobe Tharp’s road to the World Ultimate Championship 110m hurdles title got off to a worrying start. The 20-year-old American and world-record holder hit several hurdles in his heat and had to settle for third in 13.27, narrowly staying in qualifying position. With reigning world champion Cordell Tinch waiting in the final, Tharp had little room for another mistake. Yet when the pressure was highest, the young hurdler found his rhythm to pocket $150,000 in Budapest.

On September 11, Tharp got his chance to put that difficult run behind him. The young American lined up against a field that included Tinch, Trey Cunningham, Bradley Franklin and other top hurdlers, with the first Ultimate Championship title in the event on the line. After his struggles earlier in the competition, the world-record holder crossed the line in 12.94 seconds, just enough to edge Tinch and secure the championship and the $150,000 prize money.

Tinch pushed Tharp all the way to the finish, clocking 12.95 seconds for second place and a season best. The gap between the two Americans was only one hundredth of a second. Behind them, the American dominance continued. Bradley Franklin finished third in 13.01 seconds, while Trey Cunningham took fourth in 13.08, completing a remarkable 1-2-3-4 sweep for the United States in the men’s 110m hurdles.

For Tharp, the victory was another reward for a season that has already changed his standing in the sport. He had his success early in the year at the NCAA Championships. In the semifinals, Tharp came up to 12.75 seconds, lopping five hundredths off Aries Merritt’s 2012 world record of 12.80. He then went back and did the last one to win it in 12.90.

Tharp continued to build on that performance during the summer. In July, he returned to Budapest for the István Gyulai Memorial and won the 110m hurdles in 12.85 seconds. His Diamond League campaign added even more wins to the picture. Tharp claimed victories in London in 12.89 seconds, Chorzów in 13.05 and Brussels in 13.03, while also finishing second in Eugene with a 12.91. The results showed that his world record had not come out of nowhere. 

But while Tharp celebrated a dramatic victory, the result was a much tougher one for Trey Cunningham

Trey Cunningham’s strong season ends in a painful fourth-place finish

Trey Cunningham looked like one of the biggest threats earlier in the night, winning the first semifinal in 13.18 seconds. Cunningham finished ahead of Switzerland’s Jason Joseph, who ran 13.26, while Tharp had to settle for third in 13.27 after his troubled run. That made Cunningham’s fourth-place finish in the final even more difficult to take.

Still, Cunningham’s performance in Budapest came during a strong 2026 campaign. He had already shown that he could challenge the best in the event, particularly with his 12.98-second victory in Rome on June 4. The Diamond League win was a personal best and meeting record, and it put Cunningham among the leading contenders in the 110m hurdles.

He remained a regular presence near the front throughout the summer. Cunningham finished third in Paris in 13.07 and third in London in 13.12, before taking second in Chorzów in 13.08 and another second-place finish in Zürich in 13.19. With a 12.98 season best, Cunningham arrived in Budapest with plenty of reason to believe he could fight for the Ultimate Championship crown.