Chinese humanoid robot smashes Usain Bolt’s 100m record
By Joel Masibo, August 23, 2026A humanoid robot from China has posted a remarkable 100-metre time that is faster than the long-standing world record set by Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt.
Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won its preliminary 100-metre race at the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, August 22, 2026, completing the distance in 9.39 seconds, according to organisers.
The machine had a slow start and initially trailed Honour’s humanoid robot, Lightning. However, Tiangong Ultra accelerated late in the race to finish ahead of its rival.
Lightning also produced a time below Bolt’s 9.58-second world record, crossing the line in 9.47 seconds. Bolt established the human 100-metre record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
The latest performance represents a major improvement for Tiangong Ultra. At last year’s inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, the robot won the same event in 21.50 seconds.
Tiangong Ultra also made history by winning the first humanoid robot half-marathon staged in Beijing in 2025.
Earlier on Saturday, August 22, 2026, Chinese state media reported that Lightning had clocked 9.32 seconds over 100 metres during a practice event. The robot reportedly reached a top speed of 14.5 metres per second.
Lightning had already demonstrated impressive endurance by winning this year’s humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, a pace faster than the existing elite men’s human world-record standard.
During the half-marathon, Lightning was 169 centimetres tall with legs measuring 95 centimetres. CCTV reported that its developers subsequently increased its leg length by 10 centimetres, bringing it to 1.05 metres, before the robot games.
The 100-metre sprint is just one of 51 competitions being held at the event. The programme also includes football, dancing and challenges designed around industrial tasks.
Strategic industry
China has increasingly identified humanoid robotics as an important emerging sector, with government policymakers and technology companies investing heavily in the development of artificial intelligence and advanced hardware.
The expectation is that improvements in these technologies could lead to wider use of humanoid robots in areas such as factories, logistics and consumer services.
Growing investor interest in the industry was highlighted earlier this week when shares of Unitree, one of China’s leading humanoid robot manufacturers, surged by more than five times during its Shanghai stock-market debut. The jump gave the company an estimated market value of around $50 billion.
This year’s World Humanoid Robot Games have expanded significantly compared with their first edition. Organisers say 2,056 robots representing 666 teams from 16 countries across six continents are taking part, compared with 280 teams at the inaugural competition.
The event is being held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval and is scheduled to continue until Wednesday, August 26, 2026.