A Chinese humanoid robot sets a new 100-meter sprint record at Beijing Games

A Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot crosses the finish line in 8.86 seconds, next to Honor humanoid robots, during a 100m large-size group semifinal race, at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China, on Aug 25, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang) 26 Aug 2026 10:32AM BEIJING: A Chinese humanoid robot set a new 100-meter sprint record of 8.86 seconds in Beijing on Tuesday (Aug 25), beating its robot competitors - and the fastest recorded human time.The race was part of China’s World Humanoid Robot Games, an Olympic-style competition now in its second year in Beijing. The event is also a showcase for China’s rapid advances in robotics amid an intensifying technology rivalry with the US.The previous robot record of 9.39 seconds had been set just thre