9.39-Second Sprint Shatters Human 100m Mark at Beijing Robot Games
A headless Chinese humanoid robot sprinted 100 meters in 9.39 seconds over the weekend at Beijing’s Olympic speed skating arena during the World Robot Games. Autonomous hardware developers and robotics engineering teams demonstrated new benchmarks in machine locomotion as multiple humanoids competed across track events, football matches, and boxing bouts.
Tiangong Ultra Clocked 38.15 Seconds in 400-Meter Dash to Edge Out Previous Benchmarks
Developed by a Beijing government-backed research center, the Tiangong Ultra humanoid completed its 100-meter sprint faster than Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second mark set in 2009, state broadcaster CCTV confirmed. The same machine model returned to the track on Sunday to log a 38.15-second finish in the 400-meter event, cutting nearly five seconds off the previous record despite wobbling off-balance during its heat.
Beyond the track wins, competing models displayed mixed operational performance, with several failing to start, pacing at a slow walk, or collapsing at the opening gun. Spectators observed toddler-sized humanoids kicking footballs over barricades and a boxing model folding over the ring ropes until operators removed it. Hou Yali, a 72-year-old Beijing resident attending the games, noted that the speed trials demonstrate mechanical movement limits rather than practical household assistance or task intelligence.
The sprint performance eclipsed the human 100-meter world record of 9.58 seconds set by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2009.
