China’s Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot ran 100 metres in 8.86 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Tuesday, surpassing the 9.58-second world record set by Usain Bolt in 2009 during an event showcasing rapid technological advancements.
A Record-Breaking Sprint at the Beijing Oval
The Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot clocked an astonishing 8.86-second time during the semifinal of the large-size robot division at the National Speed Skating Oval. The performance lowered the 9.39-second mark the machine had previously set at the opening of the competition.
That preliminary run on Saturday already drew international attention when it stunned spectators at the World Humanoid Robot Games by dipping below the 9.58-second barrier established by Jamaican sprinting great Usain Bolt at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin. By Tuesday’s semifinal, the machine had shaved more than seven-tenths of a second off Bolt’s human benchmark.
Rival Machines and the Engineering Reality
Tiangong was not the only machine threatening historical human records on the track. Smartphone maker Honor entered its Lightning platform into the competition, recording a 9.32-second time in an earlier test run before officially finishing a heat behind Tiangong with a 9.47-second mark. Two robots from Honor’s Lightning platform finished under Bolt’s mark during the competition.
Yet these high-speed demonstrations carry raw mechanical consequences. To complete its sub-nine-second dash, Tiangong Ultra struck a thick mat placed beyond the finish line to arrest its momentum, resulting in a small fire in its torso after the robot collapsed from the impact. In a separate semifinal race, another competitor disassembled entirely mid-course.
“Reading that a motor-powered robot can run faster than a human is one thing,” said Li Hui, 26, an engineer with Fudan University’s table-tennis team. “Seeing it rush past you during training is completely different. You realise how impressive it is.”
Li Hui, engineer with Fudan University’s table-tennis team
Broader Dominance Across the Games
The sprinting records are part of a wider exhibition of athletic and functional milestones claimed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. Organizers noted that Tiangong platforms had already beaten four human world records during the event.
Alongside the 100-metre sprint, the innovation centre highlighted a 400m time of 38.15 seconds, a 1,500m mark of 2 minutes 21.64 seconds, and a 2.88-metre-high jump. The 400-metre performance alone clocked nearly five seconds inside the human record during the games held at the Ice Ribbon venue.
Strategic Industrial backing in China
The athletic showcase underscores a national industrial policy. China has designated humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry as policymakers seek to translate breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, advanced motors, and onboard sensors into practical applications for manufacturing, logistics, and services.
Corporate data provider Qichacha shows that the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center counts state-owned enterprises, investment funds, cloud giant Baidu, and the robotics unit of smartphone and electric vehicle maker Xiaomi among its shareholders.
The Contrast Between Speed and Dexterity
Despite blazing speed on the track, the second edition of the games—featuring more than 2,000 robots from 666 teams competing across 51 events—revealed stark operational limitations. In separate contests scheduled alongside the athletics, machines struggled significantly with fine motor tasks, such as picking up beans.
