A humanoid robot developed by a Beijing government-backed research institute ran the 100 meters in 9.39 seconds during the second World Humanoid Robot Games, beating Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record from 2009, state broadcaster CCTV and other outlets reported from the Games’ opening in Beijing on August 22.

The robot, Tiangong Ultra, was built by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, a national-municipal research initiative also known as X-Humanoid. A second robot, Honor’s “Lightning,” also beat Bolt’s mark, clocking 9.47 seconds. Both results are a sharp jump from last year’s Games, where Tiangong Ultra won the 100m in 21.50 seconds — nearly 12 seconds slower.

The times are not an officially recognized athletics record. Robots race under their own event rules rather than World Athletics standards for human sprinters, and organizers and state media described the results as beating Bolt’s mark rather than setting a new world record. Even so, the jump in speed shows how quickly China’s humanoid robot sprinting has advanced in a single year.

A bigger, faster field

The second edition of the Games, held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval from August 22 to 26, drew 666 teams fielding 2,056 robots across 51 events — up from 280 teams and 500 robots across 26 events at the inaugural 2025 Games. The event is organized by China Media Group, the Beijing municipal government, the World Robot Cooperation Organization and the Asia-Pacific RoboCup International Council.

Robots also cleared a standing high jump of 2.88 meters, well above the 1.90-meter human standing high jump record set by Sweden’s Rune Almén in 1980, China Daily reported. Beyond track events, the Games include football, table tennis matches against Olympic champion Ding Ning, and scenario-based competitions simulating household services, industrial work, logistics, and firefighting and rescue.

Tiangong Ultra has built a track record over the past year: in April 2025 it became the first humanoid robot to finish a half-marathon, completing the course in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds. The Games have become a showcase for Beijing’s push to lead in humanoid robotics manufacturing, with rivals such as Unitree also racing to demonstrate athletic humanoid robots. For more on how these machines work, see our explainer on what a humanoid robot actually is.