Two humanoid robots have beaten Usain Bolt’s 100-meter (328 feet) world record at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, organizers said Saturday. Tiangong Ultra, built by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won a preliminary heat in 9.39 seconds. Lightning, made by smartphone company Honor, finished in 9.47 seconds. Both beat the 9.58 seconds Bolt ran in 2009 at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
Tiangong fell behind early, then passed Lightning near the finish. Neither robot could stop on its own, and both crashed into padding at the track’s end. Tiangong stumbled into the spectator area, forcing people to step aside. Lightning fell after crossing the line and was carried off on a stretcher.
The times mark sharp progress from last year, when Tiangong won the same race in 21.5 seconds, far off Usain Bolt’s pace. State media reported Lightning hit 9.32 seconds in a practice run earlier Saturday.
Humanoid robots widen their lead over Usain Bolt
Lightning also won a Beijing half marathon in April, finishing in 50 minutes, 26 seconds, faster than the human world record for that distance. Engineers have since lengthened its legs by 10 centimeters (3.9 inches), to 105 centimeters (41.3 inches), state broadcaster CCTV reported.
JUST IN: Chinese robot “Tianzhuo” clocks a 9.39-second 100m at the World Humanoid Robot Games — faster than Usain Bolt’s human world record. pic.twitter.com/9ROEENgxoI
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) August 23, 2026
The sprint was part of the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which drew more than 2,000 robots from 666 teams and 16 countries, up from 280 teams last year.
The games include 51 categories and over 1,000 matches, covering events such as soccer, boxing, dancing and weightlifting. A robot from X-Humanoid cleared 2.88 meters (9.45 feet) in the standing high jump, beating the 2.45-meter (8.04-foot) human record set in 1993.
China has promoted humanoid robots as a key industry, drawing investor interest. Shares in robot maker Unitree rose more than fivefold on its Shanghai trading debut this week, pushing its value to about $50 billion.
Pentagon ties Unitree to China’s military amid import ban
Tension with the United States continues. Last month the FCC banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots, a move seen as targeting China. The Pentagon has also linked Unitree to China’s military, a claim Beijing rejects.
Researchers say the robots remain mostly limited to demonstrations and testing, not daily use. Beijing resident Li Yanfeng said she once worried robots would take human jobs but now views their rise as unstoppable.
The games run through Wednesday at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval.
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