Chinese Humanoid Robot Runs 100 Metres Faster Than Usain Bolt at Beijing Games

A Chinese humanoid robot ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, faster than the human world record of 9.58 seconds set by Usain Bolt in 2009. Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won its preliminary heat.

Honor’s Lightning finished second in 9.47 seconds, also under the human mark. Both robots ended their runs by slamming into a padded wall and were carried away. Last year at the inaugural games, the same Tiangong model needed 21.50 seconds for the distance.

Organisers say 666 teams and 2,056 humanoid robots are taking part in 51 events and more than 1,300 competitions, including running, boxing, soccer, table tennis and martial arts. The number of teams rose 138 percent from the first edition.

Lightning had earlier posted 9.32 seconds in a preparatory trial and won a half-marathon earlier this year in 50 minutes 26 seconds. Researchers lengthened its legs to 1.05 metres for the current games.

The five-day event at the National Speed Skating Oval is designed to showcase progress in Chinese robotics. Some robots tripped, fell or caught fire during other events. One model also broke the standing high-jump record by clearing 2.88 metres.

The results highlight rapid gains in AI-driven mobility systems, though experts note that translating race-track performance into practical real-world tasks remains an open question.