The 100-meter dash record set by Usain Bolt in 2009 has now been outpaced by humanoid robots competing 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. Another competitor, the Honor-developed Lightning, followed closely behind at 9.47 seconds.
That result makes the event an unusual but highly specific benchmark for humanoid robotics. The race was not just a spectacle; it was a direct comparison between machines and one of the most famous standards in track and field. Because the 100-meter dash is so widely recognized, a fast robot run can be understood immediately, even by people who do not follow robotics closely. In that sense, the Beijing competition turned a technical achievement into a simple number that is easy to measure and easy to compare.
A robot competition built around speed and balance
The World Humanoid Robot Games are described as a kind of annual robot Olympics focused on advances in bipedal bot technology. The event launched in 2025 and, in this year’s edition, 2,056 robots from 16 countries are participating. That scale gives the competition a broad snapshot of how fast humanoid robots are improving in movement, coordination, and endurance.
By bringing together robots from so many countries, the Games create a setting where progress can be seen across a wide field rather than in a single demonstration. The emphasis on bipedal movement also matters, because walking and running on two legs remains one of the most difficult problems in robotics. Speed is only part of the challenge. Balance, timing, and control all have to work together for a robot to complete a sprint cleanly and without losing stability.
This is part of what makes the event distinctive. Unlike a lab test or a controlled engineering demo, the Games place robots into a public competition where motion has to hold up under pressure. The result is a practical showcase for how far humanoid systems have come and how much further they may still go.
Tiangong Ultra leads a notable field
Tiangong Ultra’s 9.39-second run is the headline result from the sprint heat, but it was not the only attention-grabbing moment from the event. The Verge also noted that Tiangong Ultra broke the 400-meter world record during this year’s Games. Alongside that, the appearance of Lightning in second place shows that multiple teams are pushing humanoid machines toward higher-speed performance.
The sprint result is notable not only because of the time itself, but because it came from a robot built specifically for this kind of challenge. Tiangong Ultra, made by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, stands out as the robot that pushed the 100-meter mark into new territory. Lightning’s close finish reinforces the broader point that the competition is not being defined by one isolated machine. Instead, several robots are now reaching speeds that would have seemed far less plausible in earlier stages of humanoid development.
In a competition centered on measurable performance, a close second place still matters. Lightning’s 9.47-second finish shows that the field is becoming more competitive, not less. When multiple robots can post times that sit so close together, the event begins to resemble a real athletic contest, even though the participants are machines.
Why this matters for humanoid robotics
Humanoid robots are difficult to build because they must balance, coordinate, and move on two legs in ways that are stable enough to complete tasks and fast enough to compete. A sprint result like this suggests that bipedal systems are making progress not just in laboratory settings, but in public competitions designed to showcase real-world motion. The World Humanoid Robot Games are one place where those gains become visible in a simple and measurable way.
That visibility is important. Robotics progress can often feel abstract, especially when it involves software, sensors, or internal control systems that are not easy to see. But a 100-meter sprint reduces the question to something direct: how quickly can the robot move from one end of the track to the other? The answer, in this case, is enough to surpass a benchmark long associated with Usain Bolt.
At the same time, the event also highlights how much remains to be developed. Running fast is one achievement, but the broader demands of humanoid robotics include staying upright, adjusting to motion in real time, and maintaining performance over different kinds of movement. The Games do not solve those challenges, but they do show which systems are making visible progress.
Conclusion
By beating the long-standing 100-meter benchmark associated with Usain Bolt, humanoid robots have reached a symbolic milestone. Tiangong Ultra’s 9.39-second sprint at the World Humanoid Robot Games highlights how quickly bipedal robotics is advancing, and the event’s size suggests that more teams are likely to keep raising the bar.
The combination of a globally recognized record, a large international field, and a clear winning time makes this result especially memorable. It reflects both the pace of current progress and the competitive environment pushing it forward. With 2,056 robots from 16 countries taking part, the Games provide a strong stage for future improvements, and this year’s sprint result suggests that the next milestones may arrive quickly.