How 110m Hurdles Times Have Improved Over the Decades
How 110m Hurdles Times Have Improved Over the Decades
The men’s 110‑metre hurdles is one of track field’s purest speed‑technique tests: ten 42‑inch (106.7 cm) barriers, a straight 110‑metre run, and the need to combine raw sprint speed with near‑perfect hurdle rhythm. Over more than a century of international competition, recorded times in the event have fallen from roughly 15.0 seconds to the mid‑12s. That long decline hasn’t been steady — it comes in bursts that mirror changes in timing, track surfaces, training methods, technique and, occasionally, rule changes or technological advances. The most recent landmark is Ja’Kobe Tharp’s world record 12.75s run at Hayward Field on 10 June 2026. (flashresults.ncaa.com)
Quick summary of the world‑record milestones
| Time (s) | Athlete | Venue | Date | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.0 | Forrest Smithson | London (Olympics) | 25 July 1908 | IAAF’s first recognized world record for 110m hurdles. |
| 14.8 | Earl Thomson | Antwerp (Olympics) | 18 August 1920 | Early measurable drop from the inaugural mark. |
| 13.7 | Forrest Towns | Berlin / Chicago (various) | 1936 | First sustained breakthrough below 14.0s; Towns’ marks dominated the era. |
| 13.4 | Jack Davis | Bakersfield (AAU) | 22 June 1956 | Mid‑century step down — hand timing still common. |
| 13.24 | Rod Milburn | Munich (Olympics) | 7 Sept 1972 | One of the first very fast automatic‑timed era marks; a benchmark for the 1970s. |
| 12.93 | Renaldo Nehemiah | Zurich | 19 Aug 1981 | First athlete to break 13.0s — a historic barrier. |
| 12.91 / 12.88 | Colin Jackson / Liu Xiang | Stuttgart (1993) / Lausanne (2006) | 20 Aug 1993 / 11 Jul 2006 | Jackson then Liu refined the top end: Liu became a global superstar for China. |
| 12.87 | Dayron Robles | Ostrava | 12 Jun 2008 | Small step down in the late 2000s ahead of the 2012 record. |
| 12.80 | Aries Merritt | Brussels (Diamond League Final) | 7 Sep 2012 | A dominant all‑time performance that stood for nearly 14 years. (worldathletics.org) |
| 12.75 | Ja’Kobe Tharp | Eugene (NCAA Champs, Hayward Field) | 10 Jun 2026 | Newest world record: lowered the mark to 12.75s in the semifinals. (flashresults.ncaa.com) |
Sources for the table include World Athletics/IAAF historical lists and official meet result documents; modern press reports and the NCAA result files confirm Ja’Kobe Tharp’s 12.75s at Hayward Field on 10 June 2026. (assets.aws.worldathletics.org)
Decade‑by‑decade pattern and what caused the gains
Early 1900s–1930s: organization and standardization
When the IAAF (now World Athletics) began ratifying marks, times were typically in the mid‑ to high‑15s and then the 14s. The 1930s produced the first major step — Forrest Towns’ 13.7 in 1936 — driven by more systematic coaching, better competition and incremental improvements in athlete preparation. Hand timing and non‑standard surfaces (cinder tracks) were the norm, so comparisons with modern times are imprecise. (en.wikipedia.org)
1950s–1970s: better coaching, the three‑step revolution and surfaces
By the 1950s and 1960s athletes were refining sprint‑hurdle technique (the consistent use of a three‑step pattern between hurdles for elite male hurdlers came to dominate), while training science evolved. Jack Davis’ 13.4 (1956) and Rod Milburn’s Olympic 13.24 (1972) reflected both technique and the early shift toward more reliable electronic timing at major meets. The 1968 introduction of polyurethane “Tartan” synthetic tracks at the Mexico City Olympics began a broader move away from cinder surfaces — synthetic tracks are faster and more consistent and directly supported repeated lower times at major meets thereafter. (latimes.com)