The boundaries between human athletic performance and robotics have been pushed further after a Chinese humanoid robot ran the 100 metres in 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.

The time was faster than Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record, which the Jamaican sprint legend established in 2009. The extraordinary performance was recorded during the opening day of the Olympics-style robotics competition, attracting attention to China’s rapid progress in humanoid technology.

The sprint was only one of several headline-making performances at the competition. A separate humanoid robot reached 2.88 metres in the standing high jump, surpassing the human world record of 2.45 metres established by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor in 1993.

The contrast with last year’s competition is particularly striking. During the first edition of the games, the best humanoid performance in the standing high jump was 0.95 metres. Just one year later, a robot reached almost three times that height and moved beyond the established human record.

Both machines responsible for the record-breaking performances were developed by Beijing-based X-Humanoid. Their results demonstrate the progress engineers have made in controlling robotic bodies during demanding movements where even small errors can cause a machine to lose balance.

The sprint competition also revealed that robotic development is moving rapidly outside the official records. Before the games opened, a humanoid robot produced by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor reportedly completed a 100-metre trial in 9.32 seconds, with a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second.

The World Humanoid Robot Games are being held over five days and feature 51 events, with more than 1,000 competitions taking place. More than 2,000 humanoid robots are participating, according to organizers. Events range from traditional athletics-style competitions to soccer, table tennis, weightlifting and tug of war.

The event is taking place at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, a major venue from the 2022 Winter Olympics. Its timing also coincides with the World Robot Conference, creating a week-long showcase of China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and robotics.

China’s dominance in the humanoid robot industry is becoming increasingly significant as Beijing and Washington compete for technological leadership. Chinese manufacturers currently account for a large share of global humanoid robot production, while the United States has increased scrutiny of Chinese robotics companies over national security concerns.

Despite the spectacular performances, experts caution that humanoid robots remain primarily experimental. Most are still being used for demonstrations, research and controlled performances rather than widespread commercial applications.

Still, the performances in Beijing demonstrate just how quickly the technology is evolving. The sight of a machine running faster than the human 100-metre world record and another jumping higher than the human high-jump record would have seemed impossible only a few years ago.

For China’s robotics industry, the games represent more than entertainment. They offer an opportunity to demonstrate technological progress to an international audience and show what the latest generation of humanoid machines can achieve.