Chinese Humanoid Robot Eclipses Usain Bolt’s Sprint Record at Beijing Games

A Beijing-based humanoid robot named Lightning Bolt shattered Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s long-standing 100-meter dash record Saturday during the opening day of the World Humanoid Robot Games. The machine completed the sprint in 9.39 seconds, surpassing Bolt’s benchmark of 9.58 seconds set in 2009, though it crashed into a blue wall upon crossing the finish line.

In preliminary trials before the event’s official start, a humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor completed the same distance in 9.32 seconds while reaching peak speeds of 14.5 meters per second. The competing machines required stretcher assistance afterward, contrasting sharply with Bolt’s victory lap celebration nearly 15 years earlier.

The five-day competition, now in its second year, features more than 2,000 robots competing in 51 events and 1,000 competitions spanning running, table tennis and soccer. Held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, the games underscore China’s accelerating advancement in robotics technology amid intensifying competition with the United States.

A humanoid robot achieved a standing high jump of 2.88 meters, demolishing both last year’s robot record of 0.95 meters and the human record of 2.45 meters established by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor in 1993. Additional competitions included weightlifting and tug of war, with participants from 16 countries including Germany, Japan and the U.S.

The Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission has banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots, citing national security concerns. FCC Chair Brendan Carr stated the agency would continue securing America’s supply chains in coordination with national security agencies.