A humanoid robot completed a 100-metre sprint in 9.39 seconds during the opening of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, a time faster than the 9.58-second human world record set by Usain Bolt in 2009.
The sprinting machine was developed by Beijing-based X-Humanoid. The company also fielded a robot that reached 2.88 metres in a standing high jump. Organisers and manufacturers presented both performances as records exceeding human marks, including Javier Sotomayor’s 2.45-metre high-jump record from 1993. The robot event, however, is a technology demonstration with its own machines and formats, rather than a human athletics competition.
Another fast result came before the formal opening. Smartphone maker Honor said its humanoid robot ran 100 metres in 9.32 seconds in a trial, reaching a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second. The supplied report does not describe the precise timing rules or mechanical conditions for comparing these demonstrations with certified human track records.
More than 2,000 humanoid robots took part in the five-day games, according to the organiser. Now in its second year, the programme comprised 51 events and more than 1,000 competitions, ranging from running and weightlifting to table tennis, soccer and tug of war. Sixteen countries participated, including China, Germany, Japan and the United States.
The venue was Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, constructed for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Holding both gatherings in Beijing concentrated competitive demonstrations and commercial exhibits within the same week. The robot games opened in the same week as the 2026 World Robot Conference, also held in Beijing, where companies displayed about 3,000 products including humanoid systems. Hundreds of robots marched in formation at the games’ opening, placing coordinated movement alongside athletic tasks as a measure of technical progress.
The high-jump result showed a large year-on-year gain within the event. Last year’s best humanoid standing jump was 0.95 metres, compared with the reported 2.88 metres this time. Spectators interviewed at the venue pointed to the rapid improvement of robots performing activities familiar from human sport.
Despite the striking demonstrations, experts cited in the report cautioned that humanoid machines remain concentrated in research, performances and staged showcases. Broad deployment in everyday settings will require more time. The sporting results display advances in speed, balance and control under event conditions, but they do not establish that the same machines can reliably carry out complex work in less controlled environments.
The Beijing games nevertheless offered a large-scale snapshot of China’s robotics industry, bringing thousands of machines and an international field into a single public competition.
