Humanoid robots smash Usain Bolt’s 100-meter record

Literally ‘smashing’ — the bots can’t stop without colliding into a crash pad.

Literally ‘smashing’ — the bots can’t stop without colliding into a crash pad.

The 9.58-second 100-meter dash record set by Usain Bolt in 2009 has been outpaced by Chinese robots participating at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. In a preliminary heat on Saturday, Tiangong Ultra, made by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation ​Center, ran the distance in 9.39 seconds, followed by the Honor-developed Lightning at 9.47 seconds.

It’s one of several notable achievements to take place at the event, which can best be described as a sort of annual robot olympics that’s designed to showcase advancements in bipedal bot technology. After launching in 2025, 2,056 robots from 16 countries are participating in this year’s World Humanoid Robot Games , which includes categories for sprinting, jumping, football, boxing, and more. Tiangong Ultra also ran the 400-meter race in 38.16 seconds — beating the 43.03 second world record set by Wayde van Niekerk in 2016.

Unlike human athletes, however, these sprinting bots don’t typically get to perform a victory lap after crossing the finish line. Several videos show the robots colliding into cushioned walls at impressive speeds, where they (or the pieces of what’s left of them ) get collected and carried away on a stretcher. Watching the various robot models actually run is both amusing and a little unsettling, given the bizarre way they move to dash so quickly.