Home · Top · Science & Technology
Chinese humanoid robots beat Usain Bolt’s 100m mark at Beijing games
Confirmed
Watch:BBC News video — Chinese robot beats Bolt’s 100m mark at Beijing games
What we know
On the opening day of the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, Chinese humanoid robots posted 100-meter sprint times faster than Usain Bolt’s human world record of 9.58 seconds, according to organizers, robot makers, and major wire and broadcast reports circulating into Sunday.
The performances are in a separate robot competition and do not alter the official human athletics record. Organizers said more than 2,000 humanoids from hundreds of teams are entered in the five-day event at the National Speed Skating Oval.
What's confirmed
- Associated Press (via NBC News and ABC News): a humanoid ran 100 meters in 9.39 seconds on Saturday, faster than Bolt’s 9.58; a standing high jump of 2.88 meters surpassed Javier Sotomayor’s human mark of 2.45 meters. Both robots were from Beijing-based X-Humanoid.
- Reuters: Chinese robots beat the human 100m mark at the Beijing games; Tiangong Ultra’s heat time was reported at 9.39 seconds, with Honor’s Lightning second near 9.47 in related wire summaries.
- BBC News video from Beijing covers the Lightning trial and opening-day sprint spectacle; CBS and other broadcast reports cite the 9.39-second run and cushioned crash stops at the finish.
- Honor said its “Lightning” humanoid ran 9.32 seconds in a preparatory trial at a peak of about 14.5 m/s — also below Bolt’s human time — per AP, Guardian, Al Jazeera, and Straits Times coverage.
- France 24 (with AFP), Deutsche Welle, The Hindu, and Indian Express corroborate the Bolt comparison and games context from Beijing.
What's still developing
- Finals results and full official timing sheets for all heats were still being reported as the games continue through the week.
- Experts quoted in AP coverage stress humanoids remain largely demonstration and research platforms; mass real-world deployment timelines are unsettled.
- Naming of the 9.39-second competition robot varies across outlets (X-Humanoid / Tiangong Ultra / related Beijing innovation-center branding); wire accounts agree on the 9.39 figure and Bolt comparison.
Sources
- Associated Press — 9.39s 100m; 2.88m high jump; X-Humanoid; games context link
- Associated Press / NBC News — 9.39s 100m; high jump 2.88m; Honor Lightning trial 9.32s link
- Associated Press / ABC News — Wire: Chinese humanoids smash human 100m and high-jump marks at Beijing games link
- Reuters — Tiangong Ultra heat 9.39s; Lightning second ~9.47s; games field size link
- BBC News — Video: moment robot beats Bolt’s 100m mark at Beijing games link
- Al Jazeera — Bolt’s 100m mark broken at World Humanoid Robot Games link
- The Guardian — Honor Lightning 9.32s preparatory test; peak ~14.5 m/s link
- The Straits Times — Chinese robot beats Bolt’s 100m mark in test run; half-marathon context link
- France 24 / AFP — Tiangong Ultra 9.39s; games spectacle and Beijing venue context link
- Deutsche Welle — China’s sprinting robots; 9.39s vs Bolt and tech-competition frame link
- The Hindu — AP: 9.39s sprint and 2.88m high jump at Beijing robot games link
- Indian Express — Tiangong Ultra 9.39s heat; Lightning 9.47s; crash-at-finish video context link
- CBS News — Broadcast: 9.39s run; crash-stop finish; games context link
- The Independent — Honor Lightning trial 9.32s; peak speed link