A Chinese-developed humanoid robot has achieved a top speed of 14.5 m/s, surpassing Usain Bolt’s 100‑metre world record in Beijing, according to state media.
Published On 22 Aug 2026
A robot engineered by Honor, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, covered 100 metres in 9.32 seconds, eclipsing Bolt’s celebrated 9.58‑second mark set in Berlin in 2009.
During a test run preceding the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which opened in Beijing on Saturday, the robot named Lightning reached a peak velocity of 14.5 m/s (about 47.6 ft/s).
The performance eclipses Bolt’s previous men’s 100‑metre world record of 9.58 seconds.
China has positioned humanoid robotics as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and enterprises betting that advances in artificial intelligence and hardware will speed the integration of such systems into manufacturing, logistics and consumer markets.
In April, Lightning also captured the Beijing half marathon, completing the 21‑kilometre course in 50 minutes 26 seconds — faster than the elite human male pace.
Standing 169 centimetres (5.5 ft) tall with 95 centimetre (3.1 ft) legs at the time of the marathon, the robot’s limb length was later extended by 10 centimetres to 1.05 metres (3.4 ft) ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games, as reported by CCTV.
