A Chinese humanoid robot has stunned the world by breaking the record of Usain Bolt’s, once fastest man on Earth, 100m race record.
During the preparatory run for the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, the robot named Lightning completed the distance in just 9.32 seconds.
Bolt’s record was completing 100 meters in 9.58 seconds which he achieved in Berlin, Germany, in 2009.
Lightning was developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor and has become one of the standout robots at this year’s competition, where machines from around the world are being tested in different sporting events.
The robot’s performance is particularly striking because humanoid robots were still struggling to complete a 100-meter race just a year ago.
Lightning had already made headlines in April after completing a 21-kilometer half-marathon in Beijing in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, a time that was also faster than the human world record at the time.
However, Lightning’s 9.32-second run should not be confused with an official athletics world record. The robot competed in a separate event designed to test the capabilities of humanoid machines rather than against human athletes under World Athletics rules.
Meanwhile, another Chinese humanoid robot, Tiangong Ultra, also crossed the 100-meter finish line faster than Bolt, recording 9.39 seconds during the competition.
The second World Humanoid Robot Games feature more than 2,000 robots from 16 countries competing across 51 events, including athletics, football and practical tasks.
2026-08-22 23:13:00
