Jaiden Reid unexpectedly broke a 19-year-old record on day three of the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday, June 12. He had clocked an astounding 9.82 in a 100-meter final earlier in the day, but his current record put the world on notice.  

Reid clocked 19.63 in the 200-meter final to win his first NCAA outdoor title, breaking Walter Dixon’s 19.69. 

Reid kicked off from lane six with Auburn’s Israel Okon in lane seven and Trelee Banks in lane nine. Reid’s start, however, was superb as he flew out of the blocks and by the time the nine runners were out of the curve, the 21-year-old was already well ahead. In fact, he had more than a meter’s distance between him and the rest of the pack, flying forward at breakneck speed.

Okon picked up the pace in the final 50m, but so did Reid, who thrives in the second half of his races, hitting his top speed then. However, the Auburn star pulled up about three meters from the finish line and still somehow broke sub-20 (19.99). Banks finished in third, stopping the clock at a personal best time of 20.02 seconds. 

Even the commentator seemed pleasantly surprised when Reid crossed the line, as no one was expecting this.

“That’s a collegiate record for Jaiden Reid,” the commentator said on the NCAA’s official X account (via ESPN2). “Let’s see where the wind is. One point five, it’s under the allowable. And that is the end of Walter Dix’s reign as the collegiate record holder. He almost made it to twenty years. Nineteen years, and that’s a world leader for Jaiden Reid.”

Even the 21-year-old couldn’t believe what he had just done. “Crazy,” the Cayman Islander told trackside reporters after the race. “I mean, just gotta thank God, you know? Without Him, I couldn’t have done this. You know, it’s been a rocky season, didn’t qualify for indoors, but I just wanted to come out here and show what the blessings of God can do.”

Moreover, the 21-year-old had never clocked a sub-20 before! Reid had come close this season alone: 20.31 at the LSU Alumni Gold meet and 20.15 (PR3) and then 20.01 (H1) in NCAA Division 1 East First Rounds. Then, he clocked 20.05 compared to Jelani Watkins’ 20.40 in the 200m heat.

So, Reid was confident he would break the sub-20 this year, but he never expected to break the college record!

“I was really expecting a 19.9, maybe a 20.01 like I did at regionals, but thank God,” the LSU star added. “It’s surreal, I still can’t believe it really, I’m still in shock.”

“No, it’s crazy ’cause my PB was 19.9 last year with, when they did, winds speed, so it’s just a surprise to me.”

Reid’s record-breaking run was only the beginning of a remarkable night in Eugene. As the records continued to fall, another long-standing mark came under threat when Samuel Ogazi produced a performance that etched his name into NCAA history.

Samuel Ogazi reflects on breaking the 400m record

Two records fell on the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Before Reid’s 19.63, Samuel Ogazi clocked 43.38 in the 400m final, shattering Michael Norman’s collegiate and meet record of 43.61 in 2018. 

Ogazi seized the day with three feats: a 2026 world-leading time in the 400m, a new Nigerian national record, and a personal best. Only three men in the world are faster than him: Wayde van Niekerk (43.03), Michael Johnson (43.18), and Butch Reynolds (43.29). 

“First of all, all thanks to God and my coach. Um, coming to this race, I knew I was going to run fast,” Ogazi told trackside reporters after the race.

Ogazi wasn’t even leading after the start. Jonathan Simms was leading for approximately the first 200 meters. That didn’t surprise anyone, though, as the Alabama sprinter has always been a slow starter. However, 100m into the race, he picked up the pace, flying past his rivals.

“Running the first 200, I felt a little bit sluggish, but then when I got to the 150 mark, I was like, ‘It’s time to go.’ So I just kept moving and moving and moving,” Ogazi explained.

When asked if the final stretch was tough, Ogazi said, “Yeah, it was, it was a big work for me coming up the last 50. I felt like dying, but I was like, “Keep going. You got this, keep going.” And then, and and then I did my thing. Yeah.”

For Reid, a first sub-20 race turned into a collegiate record, instantly placing him among the most exciting sprinters in the NCAA. And on a night when Ogazi rewrote the 400m record book as well, Eugene served as a reminder that the next generation of track stars is no longer waiting for its turn.