Human record broken: Robot runs 100 meters in 9.32 seconds, surpassing Usain Bolt

A historic event took place at the Olympic-style Humanoid Robot Games, held as part of the prestigious 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing. The famous Chinese Honor company's “Lightning” humanoid robot covered the 100-meter distance in just 9.32 seconds , breaking the legendary world record of the planet's fastest human, Usain Bolt, which had stood for 17 years (9.58 seconds).

This competition proved in practice that artificial intelligence and robotics are surpassing humanity in physical capabilities.

“Lightning” and the marathon: 6 minutes faster than humans!

The 100-meter distance is not the first record for “Lightning”:

• Marathon victory: This android completed the distance at the Beijing Half Marathon in April of this year in 50 minutes and 26 seconds . For comparison, the official human record for men is held by Yomif Kejelcha at 56 minutes and 51 seconds;

• Engineering secret: In April, the robot, which stands 169 cm tall with a leg length of 95 cm, had its legs further extended by 10 centimeters by scientists before the humanoid games, which provided the decisive boost for its acceleration.

2.88-meter height and other record-breaking robots

In other tournament categories, human historical records were also surpassed:

• A new era in high jump: The X-Humanoid company's robot in Beijing jumped from a standing position to a height of 2.88 meters . This is significantly higher than the absolute human record of 2.45 meters held by Cuban Javier Sotomayor since 1993;

• Fierce competition: The Tiangong Ultra robot participating in the qualifiers covered the distance in 9.39 seconds, while Shandian finished in 9.47 seconds. For comparison, the winning result in last year's inaugural competition was 21.50 seconds.

The main problem — stopping: Thick mattresses and stretchers

Although huge gains in acceleration have been made, braking and balance systems remain a difficult challenge for engineers:

• Crashing into mattresses: Several robots that reached the finish line at high speeds could not slow down and crashed into thick mattresses placed specifically for stopping;

• Spectator safety: Tiangong Ultra veered off the track, forcing spectators in the stands to flee;

• The fall of the record-breaking “Lightning”: After setting the 100-meter record, Lightning fell hard after the finish line and was carried away on a stretcher by technical staff.

51 disciplines and hand sensitivity tests

This Beijing Olympiad includes over 1,000 individual events across 51 sports disciplines , including football, table tennis, weightlifting, and tug-of-war.

This year, tests for the delicate movements and tactile sensitivity of robot hands were added to the program for the first time. Scientists call replicating the dexterity of the human hand in metal and sensors the “ultimate peak” of robotics.