Chinese robots beat Usain Bolt’s 100m world record at Beijing games

A Chinese humanoid robot ran 100 metres ​in 9.39 seconds in a preliminary heat at the world Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, faster than the men’s world record held by Jamaican sprinting great Usain Bolt.Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won its heat at the opening of ​the games’ second edition, organisers said.The robot overtook smartphone maker Honor’s Lightning near the finish after falling behind early in the race. Lightning finished in ⁠9.47 seconds, also faster than the 9.58-second record Bolt set at the 2009 world Athletics Championships in Berlin.The ‌two ‌robots ​lacked Bolt’s flair, slamming straight into a thick mat designed to stop them in their tracks, with Tiangong stumbling wildly into the sidelines, forcing onlookers to move out of the ⁠way. Lightning was carried away on a ​stretcher after collapsing to the ground.READ MORE[ Don’t worry about athletes, the Robot Games showcases how they might replace the rest of usOpens in new window ]The results nevertheless marked a ​sharp improvement from last year’s inaugural games, when Tiangong Ultra won the 100 metres in 21.50 seconds. Tiangong also won ‌the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon, held in ​Beijing last year.The humanoid robot Blitz from the Chinese cell phone manufacturer Honor is placed on a stretcher after a 100m preliminaries at National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing. Photograph: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Earlier on Saturday, Chinese state media reported that Lightning had run 100 metres in 9.32 seconds ⁠in a preparatory test, reaching a peak speed ⁠of 14.5 metres per ​second.Lightning won this year’s humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the pace of the elite men’s human world record.Lightning stood 169cm tall and had 95-cm legs during the half-marathon. Its researchers later lengthened its legs by 10cm, to 1.05 metres, in advance of the games, according to broadcaster CCTV.The 100 metres is among 51 events at the games, which include football, dancing and industrial-task contests.A humanoid robot fell and caught fire after crossing the finish line in the 100 metre preliminaries at National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China. Photograph: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images The Robot Games are being held at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing. The games, which feature hundreds of humanoid robots competing in track and field, tennis, boxing, football, working skills among many others, run from August 22nd to 26th. This year’s games have ​drawn 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries and six continents, up from ​280 teams at the inaugural event.China has promoted humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers ‌and companies betting that advances in ⁠AI and hardware will accelerate their use in manufacturing, logistics and consumer applications.Investor enthusiasm for the sector was on display earlier this week when shares in Unitree, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, jumped ‌more than five fold in its Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about $50 billion. – Reuters(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026