Fellow American Cordell Tinch crossed in a season’s best 12.95 and began celebrating, only for the replay to show Tharp’s lean had taken gold by one hundredth of a second. Bradley Franklin completed a United States sweep in 13.01, with Trey Cunningham fourth in 13.08.
Tharp had only scraped into the final as the sixth-fastest qualifier. The race was restarted after Switzerland’s European champion Jason Joseph false-started and was disqualified. Franklin led early before Tinch surged; Tharp’s closing speed over the last three hurdles decided it into a -0.6m/s headwind.
“If I had lost this race, it would be the only championship that I have lost this year,” Tharp said. “I ran as hard as I could from the last hurdle to the finish line. It sounds strange to be the NCAA champion only and then to win the Ultimate Championship, but my coach and I wanted to come out here and get the win — and I did it by a lean.”
The 20-year-old former Auburn star set the world record of 12.75 in the NCAA outdoor semi-finals earlier this year, swept the SEC and NCAA indoor and outdoor titles, then turned professional in June. He also won the Diamond League Final in Brussels.
Franklin’s 12.99 in the semi-finals made him the fifth man under 13 seconds in 2026; Tinch became the sixth in the final.
Japan’s Tatsuki Abe was fifth in 13.24. Jamal Britt was also disqualified.
The result capped a clean US one-two-three-four on the opening night in Budapest.