Advertise with Aurax News — Reach a Global Audience Today.
Chinese Humanoid Robots Break Usain Bolt’s 100m Record
By Aurax Radio | August 23, 2026 | 2 min read
Chinese humanoid robots have surpassed human athletic records at a robotics competition in Beijing, including Usain Bolt’s 100-meter world mark. The results highlight the rapid development of robotic hardware while also showing the limitations of machines that are still largely being developed for testing, research and demonstrations.
A Chinese humanoid robot demonstrates its running capabilities during the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.
BEIJING — A Chinese humanoid robot ran 100 meters in 9.39 seconds Saturday, surpassing the 9.58-second world record set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in 2009, during the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The robot, developed by Beijing-based X-Humanoid, was among more than 2,000 humanoid machines taking part in the five-day competition, which features 51 events and more than 1,000 individual contests, including running, soccer, table tennis, weightlifting and tug of war. The result came as China continues to expand its robotics industry and promote humanoid machines as an emerging technology sector.
Another Chinese humanoid robot, Lightning, developed by smartphone maker Honor, had already posted a faster 100-meter time of 9.32 seconds in a preparatory trial. The robot reached a reported peak speed of 14.5 meters per second. The competition also produced a new humanoid standing high-jump mark of 2.88 meters, exceeding the 2.45-meter human world record set by Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor in 1993. The robotic achievements, however, are not directly comparable with official human athletics records because the machines compete under different technical conditions and are not governed by the same sporting rules as human athletes.
The Beijing competition is part of a broader effort by China to demonstrate advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and related manufacturing capabilities as technological competition with the United States intensifies. The event is being held alongside the 2026 World Robot Conference and includes participants from 16 countries, including Germany, Japan and the United States. Despite the rapid improvements demonstrated on the track, humanoid robots remain largely focused on research, demonstrations and specialized applications, with wider commercial deployment still developing. The sprint also exposed some of the technology's current limitations: robots had difficulty slowing down after crossing the finish line, with competitors falling or requiring assistance to leave the track.
Sources: The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera.