Faster than Usain Bolt: Chinese robot smashes 100m record at humanoid games
Humanoid robots are playing soccer ahead the opening ceremony of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. (Photo: AP)A Chinese humanoid robot completed the 100 metres in 9.39 seconds during a preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, beating the men’s world record held by Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt, according to Reuters.
Tiangong Ultra, built by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won its heat on the opening day of the second edition of the games. The robot pulled ahead of Honor’s Lightning near the finish line after trailing early on. Lightning crossed in 9.47 seconds, also quicker than Bolt’s 9.58-second record set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
Unlike Bolt, the two machines showed little grace at the line, according to Reuters both crashed into a thick mat meant to stop them, with Tiangong stumbling into the crowd and forcing spectators to step aside. Lightning collapsed after finishing and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
How much have the robots improved?
The results mark major progress from last year’s first games, when Tiangong Ultra won the 100 metres in 21.50 seconds more than twice as slow. Tiangong also claimed victory in the world’s first humanoid half-marathon, held in Beijing last year.
A humanoid robot developed by China’s Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics ran 100 meters in 9.39 seconds, beating the human world record held by Jamaican sprinting great Usain Bolt https://t.co/z0D4H4Vco6 pic.twitter.com/EYuum0iwA8
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 22, 2026
Chinese state media reported that Lightning clocked an even faster 9.32 seconds in an earlier test run on Saturday, reaching a top speed of 14.5 metres per second, according to Reuters. Lightning had also won this year’s humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, outpacing the elite human male world record pace.
Lightning stood 169cm tall with 95cm legs during the half-marathon, but its legs were later extended by 10cm to 1.05 metres ahead of the games, according to Chinese broadcaster CCTV. The 100m race is one of 51 events at the games, alongside football, dance and industrial-task competitions, Reuters said.
Why is China investing so heavily in humanoid robots?
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China has positioned humanoid robots as a key emerging industry, with officials and businesses wagering that progress in AI and hardware will speed up their adoption across manufacturing, logistics and consumer use. Investor interest was clear this week when shares in Unitree, China’s leading humanoid robot maker, surged more than fivefold on their Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, valuing the company at roughly $50 billion, Reuters reported.
This year’s games have attracted 2,056 robots from 666 teams representing 16 countries across six continents, up sharply from 280 teams at the first event, according to Reuters. The competition, held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, continues through Wednesday.
