The world has finally seen the record for the fastest runner on the planet, previously held by Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, broken, but with a twist. The feat was achieved not by a human but by a man-made robot named ‘Tiangong Ultra’.
In the recent World Humanoid Robot Games held in Beijing, the 100-metre sprint saw not one but two robots go past the legendary Bolt’s record. The first-place robot, Tiangong Ultra, completed the sprint in just 9.39 seconds, well below Bolt’s record of 9.58 seconds, which he achieved in 2009 at the World Athletics Championships in Germany.
The runner-up also broke Bolt’s record. The second-place robot, named ‘Lightning’ developed by Honor, completed the race in 9.47 seconds.
Who is Chinese Robot Tiangong Ultra?
Here are some key details about Chinese Robot Tiangong Ultra that became faster than Usain Bolt.
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Parameter / Feature
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Details
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Developer
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Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center (China)
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Category
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Bipedal Autonomous Humanoid Robot
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100m Sprint Record
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9.39 seconds (Official Record)
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Previous Year Record
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21.50 seconds (2025 inaugural edition)
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What is World Humanoid Robot Games
World Humanoid Robot games serve the primary purpose of testing new age technologies in real world scenarios.
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Event Parameter
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Details & Data
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Official Event Title
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2nd World Humanoid Robot Games (2026)
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Host City & Venue
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National Speed Skating Oval ("Ice Ribbon"), Beijing, China
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Event Dates
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August 22 – 26, 2026
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Participation Scale
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2,056 humanoid robots across 666 teams from 16 countries
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Competitions Count
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51 events spanning 30 competitive sports and 21 real-world scenario challenges
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Key Sports Categories
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100m Sprint, 400m Dash, 1500m Run, 4x100m Relay, High Jump, Football, Gymnastics
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Usain Bolt vs Tiangong Ultra: Key Comparisons
Here are some key comparisons across different parameters between the world’s fastest robot and the fastest human.
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Comparison Metric
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Usain Bolt (Human)
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Tiangong Ultra (Robot)
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Origin / Entity
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Jamaica 🇯🇲
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Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center 🇨🇳
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Official 100m Record
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9.58 seconds (2009)
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9.39 seconds (2026)
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Average Speed (100m)
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23.35 mph (37.58 km/h)
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23.83 mph (38.34 km/h)
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Peak Top Speed
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27.78 mph (44.72 km/h)
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~25.5 mph (~41.0 km/h)
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Physical Build
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1.95m tall (1.23m stride length)
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Full-scale bipedal (1.05m leg length)
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Despite the recent development, Usain Bolt still holds the record for the fastest 100-metre sprinter.