Humanoid robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m record as China pushes robotics development

A humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds at a preparatory event for the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, beating Usain Bolt's 2009 world record of 9.58 seconds. The robot, called Lightning, reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second during the run.

The achievement comes as China aggressively promotes humanoid robotics as a strategic industry. Lightning previously completed a 21-kilometer half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds—faster than elite human pace. The robot stands 169 centimeters tall with 105-centimeter legs, dimensions that were recently adjusted specifically for the sprint attempt.

China's robotics sector is seeing significant momentum. Unitree Robotics, another Chinese humanoid manufacturer, saw its shares surge 620 percent on its Shanghai market debut this week, lifting the company's market capitalization to as high as 445 billion yuan ($66 billion). The Hangzhou-based company shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots to customers worldwide last year and recently unveiled a model called Superman that can jump two meters high and run 12.66 meters per second.

The U.S. is responding to China's robotics advances with restrictions. In July, the Federal Communications Commission banned imports of new models of foreign-made robots, including Unitree's humanoid robots and robot dogs, citing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The move has forced U.S. distributors like RoboStore to shut down operations and pivot to domestic manufacturing.

Brazil is taking a different approach, splitting AI and robotics investments between U.S. and Chinese technology. The country allocated 1.3 billion reais ($251 million) for a supercomputing project with Huawei and iFlytek, while reserving about 1 billion reais for a separate tender expected to go to Nvidia.

Whether Lightning's record will be officially ratified remains unclear—the performance occurred at a preparatory event rather than a formal competition. But the demonstration signals that humanoid robots are rapidly approaching and exceeding human physical capabilities in controlled environments, raising questions about the future intersection of robotics and human athletics.