Chinese Robot Runs 100 Meters in 9.39 Seconds at Beijing Games

A Chinese humanoid robot has run the 100 meters in 9.39 seconds, a time that surpasses the longstanding human world record of 9.58 seconds set by Usain Bolt. The performance occurred on the opening day of the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, August 22, 2026. The robot, named Tiangong Ultra, was developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre and won its preliminary heat in the event.

The games, described as an Olympics-style showcase for robotics, are being held at the National Speed Skating Oval. The event features 2,056 humanoid robots from 666 teams representing 16 countries, competing in 51 events with more than 1,300 competitions scheduled. Disciplines range from athletics and football to weightlifting, tug-of-war, and scenario-based tasks intended to demonstrate potential applications in logistics and household services.

While Tiangong Ultra's time is faster than Bolt's record from the 2009 World Athletics Championships, it is important to note that the robots are competing in a separate competition with different conditions and not under the rules of human athletics. Bolt's 9.58 seconds remains the official men's 100-meter world record...