China’s sprinting robots beat Bolt — then hit the wall

China’s sprinting robots beat Bolt — then hit the wall
China’s humanoid robots are now being presented as faster than the fastest man in history. Yet Beijing’s robot Olympics also delivered a less polished image: high-speed machines slamming into padded barriers after the finish.

The five-day World Humanoid Robot Games opened in Beijing on Saturday, drawing more than 2,000 robots for events ranging from running and high jump to football, table tennis and weightlifting. The contest doubled as a display of China’s fast-growing robotics sector as its technology rivalry with the United States intensifies.

Before the opening, Honor said its humanoid Lightning had clocked 9.32 seconds for 100 meters in a trial — faster than Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second human world record from 2009. On Saturday, organizers reported a 9.39-second run by Beijing-based X-Humanoid’s Tiangong Ultra, while Lightning was reported at 9.47 seconds in a preliminary heat. Another account of the opening-day competition simply said Chinese robots had “broke records set by humans,” underscoring how the Games have framed the performances as a national technological milestone.

The achievement came with a conspicuous caveat. Robots that could rocket down the track often struggled to decelerate; several crashed into a blue cushioned wall, with some losing limbs and one reportedly catching fire. As one report put it, the finish line came with “a padded wall and a stretcher.”

By Tuesday, a Chinese humanoid was reported to have pushed the claimed 100-meter mark still lower, to 8.86 seconds. The varying times reflect different trials and races, but all point in the same direction: rapid gains in speed, paired with unresolved questions of control and durability.

Elon Musk amplified the Lightning claim on X, highlighting not only its 9.32-second time but the fact that it crashed into a safety wall without its waist “implod[ing] with sparks flying off.”

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