Chinese humanoid robot breaks Usain Bolt's 100m record at 9.39 seconds | Fox News

In a standing high jump, a humanoid robot was able to reach 2.88 meters, well above the 0.95 meters best result by a humanoid in last year’s first edition of the games. It surpassed the human high jump record of 2.45 meters set by Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor in 1993.

Some spectators at the robot games said they were excited about the humanoid robots’ quickly improving abilities.

Humanoid robots are "evolving rapidly," said Li Yanfeng, an education worker and a Beijing resident.

UNITREE G1 HUMANOID ROBOT ICE SKATES AND ROLLERBLADES

Staff members move a humanoid robot onto a stretcher after a race at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. Staff members move the humanoid robots onto stretchers after they crashed into the blue-cushioned wall at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China, on Aug. 22, 2026. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

"At first, I wasn’t very accepting of artificial intelligence. I was even a bit resistant to it, because of the possibility that it might replace or displace humans," she said. "But now that I see this development is unstoppable, I decided to come and take a look."

"These sports are perfectly normal for humans, but now robots can do them. I find it amazing," said Yang Shangzheng, another spectator.

NEW YORK SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DEPLOY HUMANOID ROBOT IN CLASSROOMS THIS FALL

Beijing robot games put China-US technology competition in spotlight Spectators watch as a Lightning humanoid robot by Honor and a Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot compete in a 100-meter exhibition race during the opening ceremony for the second World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China, on Aug. 22, 2026. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

The World Humanoid Robot Games, in its second year, features more than 2,000 robots in 51 events and 1,000 competitions like running, table tennis and soccer. The five-day event highlights China's rapid progress in robotics amid a heated tech race with the U.S.