Robots beat Bolt, break records and even do Ronaldo’s ‘Siuuu’ at Beijing games
From beating Usain Bolt’s 100-metre mark to clearing 2.88 metres in high jump, humanoid robots showcase China’s rapid robotics advances
Chinese humanoid robots are rewriting the rules of competition, smashing records set by humans and even surpassing Usain Bolt’s 100-metre world record on the opening day of the Olympics-style World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.
More than 2,000 humanoid robots are taking part in the five-day event, which features 51 disciplines and over 1,000 competitions spanning running, table tennis and football.
Now in its second year, the games offer a glimpse into China’s rapid advances in humanoid robotics as Beijing and Washington race for dominance in the technology. The event is being held at the National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics, underscoring its Olympic-style scale.
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The games coincide with Beijing’s 2026 World Robot Conference, where companies showcased around 3,000 products, including humanoid robots. China currently produces the majority of the world’s humanoid robots, while the US has stepped up scrutiny of Chinese-made robots.
From sprinting and high-jump feats to weightlifting, tug of war and football, the games showcased the growing range of abilities being demonstrated by humanoid robots. Here are some of the key highlights:
100-metre sprint beats Bolt’s record
In a surprising feat, a Chinese humanoid robot completed the 100-metre sprint in 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday (August 22), beating the 9.58-second world record set by Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt.
Organisers said Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, won its preliminary heat on the opening day of the second edition of the games.
The robot had fallen behind early in the race but overtook smartphone maker Honor’s humanoid robot ‘Lightning’ near the finish line. Lightning clocked 9.47 seconds, also finishing ahead of Bolt’s 2009 record set at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
Humanoid robot sets high-jump record
A Chinese humanoid robot has surpassed the human world record for the standing high jump, clearing an impressive 2.88 metres in Beijing.
The feat was achieved by TienKung, a humanoid robot developed by Beijing-based X-Humanoid. Its jump went past the human record of 2.45 metres, set by Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor in 1993.
The performance also marked a dramatic improvement over last year’s inaugural edition, when the best standing high jump by a humanoid robot was just 0.95 metres.
Flash completes half-marathon in 50 minutes
In the long-distance events, Honor’s humanoid robot “Flash”, also known as Lightning, completed the full 13.1-mile half-marathon course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
The performance was nearly seven minutes faster than the official human world record of 57:20. It also highlighted the rapid progress in humanoid robotics, with Flash running more than three times faster than the slower, shuffling prototypes seen at last year’s event.
Robots take on football and combat sports
The games also went beyond traditional track and field, featuring full-contact robot cage matches, martial arts and boxing bouts in which humanoid robots threw spinning kicks and punches.
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In the football event, entertainment and engineering came together when a robotic player successfully sent the ball into the net before immediately breaking into Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic “Siuuu” celebration on the pitch.
Autonomous robots crash after finishing
With updated rules requiring robots to operate 100% autonomously without human remote control, several track events descended into chaotic and viral scenes. Multiple sprinting robots failed to slow down after crossing the finish line, continuing at full speed before crashing into large padded safety barriers and wall cushions. The collisions sent sparks flying, while handlers were forced to wheel some of the robots away on stretchers.
Tiangong Ultra stuns with high jump
During the opening exhibitions, the Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot drew attention with an impressive high jump, sending its full-sized frame high into the air before landing firmly on its feet without falling.
The performance quickly went viral online, with some users joking that Chinese humanoid robots were effectively learning how to fly.