Monday, August 24, 2026
Technology

Humanoid robots smash Usain Bolt’s 100-meter record

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,...

Humanoid robots smash Usain Bolt’s 100-meter record
Image: The Verge
Tiangong Ultra (left) also broke the 400 meter world record during this year’s World Humanoid Robot Games. | Image: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

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 …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Originally published at The Verge

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