China’s Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot has made headlines after completing a 100-metre sprint in just 8.86 seconds at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The robot, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, improved on its earlier 9.39-second time and also went faster than Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second human 100m world record. The event brought together more than 2,000 robots from 666 teams, competing in events ranging from sprinting and football to industrial tasks. Tiangong’s performance highlights how quickly humanoid robots are advancing in movement, balance and autonomous control.