A Chinese humanoid robot completed the 100m in just 8.64 seconds, setting a new record during the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The person responsible for the result was the Tiangong Ultra developed by Exhumanoid. The mark was registered in the final of the 100 m for large steals, held on the last day of the competition.

The time was almost a second below the 9.58 seconds recorded by Usain Bolt in 2009, the current male world record among humans, but the comparison does not mean that the Tiangong Ultra is simply a better sprinter than Usain Bolt, robots and humans compete under different conditions and rules and

Ultra improved its time repeatedly: in the initial trials, the humanoid completed the 100m dash in 9.39 seconds; in the semifinal, it lowered the mark to 8.86 seconds; and in the final, it clocked 8.64 seconds. The difference is even more striking when the result is compared to the performance of the same platform the previous year.

At the 2025 Humanoid Robot World Games, Tiangong Ultra won the 100m race with a time of 21.50 seconds; thus, in roughly a year, the time required to cover the same distance dropped to less than half. Speed ​​is not the only challenge, however; making a humanoid run requires continuous control of balance, leg positioning, foot impact with the ground, and the movement of the rest of the body.

The higher the speed, the less time there is to correct any instability. The track events at the games were also conducted autonomously—without remote control—with exceptions made only for certain obstacle-based categories. The next challenge will not simply be making humanoids run even faster, but rather combining that speed with balance, control, and the ability to operate reliably outside of a prepared track environment.