Screenshot from CCTV News showing a 100-meter preliminary race at the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games on August 22, 2026 in Beijing.

A humanoid robot has broken the human record in the 100-meter dash by completing the sprint in just 9.39 seconds, surpassing Jamaican legend Usain Bolt's world record of 9.58 seconds, at a preliminary race at the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games (WHRG) on Saturday evening at Beijing’s "Ice Ribbon" stadium.

At the sound of the starting gun, three humanoid robots shot off like springs. The humanoid robots developed by the Tianzhuo team and the Wind-Fire Lightning team were neck and neck from the very start, with their stride frequencies increasing and their arm swings becoming wider, according to CCTV News footage. 

In the end, the humanoid robot developed by the Tianzhuo team crossed the line first by a margin of one body length, clocking a time of 9.39 seconds — not only breaking the previous tournament record but also surpassing the human 100-meter world record of 9.58 seconds held by Jamaican legend Usain Bolt.

At last year's games, the best result in this event was 21.50 seconds. The time has now been cut to 9.39 seconds, marking a leapfrog breakthrough in the running speed of humanoid robots, the report said, noting the anticipation is building up for the robots to run even faster in the finals.


Global Times