Breaking
Canada‑US trade war further ruptures once‑close allianceChinese humanoid robots beat human sprint and jump records in BeijingNo militant incursion into Kelantan after south Thailand attacks, says GOFNo Malaysians hurt in southern Thailand attacks, Kelantan police sayNo Malaysians affected by southern Thailand security incident, says Wisma PutraSurat Khabar Lama returns AR Badul to lead role with emotional turnCreditSights keeps 'market perform' on CIMB, RHB and MaybankCreditSights keeps ‘market perform’ ratings on Malaysia’s big three banksMaybank, CIMB, RHB big gainers from Vantris restructuringZahid: Umno grassroots feedback needed before deciding on electoral pact for MelakaMalaysians told to put off travel to 3 Thai provinces after bombingsSolar kiosks bring remote healthcare to rural Chad at a fraction of the costUMNO confirms delegation to PAS MuktamarLima takes immediate action to tackle floods in Klang ValleyFan Zhendong makes Bundesliga debut as Borussia Düsseldorf beat TSV Bad Konigshofen 3-1Gaokao reforms could leave Chinese public vulnerable to pseudo-history, top academic warnsMalaysia rejects $1.9 billion passport-supplier dealHeatwave forces marathon runner to buy cooling headband after 7-mile runHarvard Business School launches AI-powered startup bootcamp with $699 price tagIndonesia steps up crackdown on mail-order marriage traffickingCanada‑US trade war further ruptures once‑close allianceChinese humanoid robots beat human sprint and jump records in BeijingNo militant incursion into Kelantan after south Thailand attacks, says GOFNo Malaysians hurt in southern Thailand attacks, Kelantan police sayNo Malaysians affected by southern Thailand security incident, says Wisma PutraSurat Khabar Lama returns AR Badul to lead role with emotional turnCreditSights keeps 'market perform' on CIMB, RHB and MaybankCreditSights keeps ‘market perform’ ratings on Malaysia’s big three banksMaybank, CIMB, RHB big gainers from Vantris restructuringZahid: Umno grassroots feedback needed before deciding on electoral pact for MelakaMalaysians told to put off travel to 3 Thai provinces after bombingsSolar kiosks bring remote healthcare to rural Chad at a fraction of the costUMNO confirms delegation to PAS MuktamarLima takes immediate action to tackle floods in Klang ValleyFan Zhendong makes Bundesliga debut as Borussia Düsseldorf beat TSV Bad Konigshofen 3-1Gaokao reforms could leave Chinese public vulnerable to pseudo-history, top academic warnsMalaysia rejects $1.9 billion passport-supplier dealHeatwave forces marathon runner to buy cooling headband after 7-mile runHarvard Business School launches AI-powered startup bootcamp with $699 price tagIndonesia steps up crackdown on mail-order marriage trafficking
Asia

Chinese humanoid robots beat human sprint and jump records in Beijing

Chinese humanoid robots broke human world athletic records in the 100-metre sprint and standing high jump on Saturday at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, according to the Associated Press.

Source: Associated Press · August 23, 2026 at 2:21 PM · AI-assisted report

Single-source
Chinese humanoid robots beat human sprint and jump records in Beijing
Photo: Winchester Museums Service, Joanna Cole, 2015-06-30 14:51:52 via wikimedia (BY)

BEIJING, 23 AUGUST 2026 —

Listen to this article

DomainFork Audio · read aloud

Chinese humanoid robots broke human world athletic records in the 100-metre sprint and standing high jump on Saturday at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, according to the Associated Press.

Market Impact

A robot built by Beijing-based X-Humanoid ran the 100-metre sprint in 9.39 seconds, beating the human world record of 9.58 seconds set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in 2009. Another X-Humanoid machine cleared 2.88 metres in the standing high jump, passing the 2.45-metre human record set by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor in 1993 and beating the 0.95-metre mark set by a robot at the event's inaugural edition last year.

A humanoid robot from Chinese smartphone maker Honor also clocked 9.32 seconds at a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second during a pre-games trial, the company said.

More than 2,000 humanoid robots from 16 countries, including the United States, Germany and Japan, entered the five-day event, organizers said. The competition features 51 events and over 1,000 contests, including table tennis, soccer, weightlifting and tug of war.

The games ran alongside the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing, where manufacturers displayed roughly 3,000 products.

China produces the majority of the world's humanoid robots, drawing heightened scrutiny from Washington as competition in advanced technologies accelerates. The US Federal Communications Commission banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots last month on national security grounds. The Pentagon also placed Chinese robotics manufacturer Unitree on its list of entities alleged to have ties to the Chinese military, a claim Beijing denies.

Spectators at the National Speed Skating Oval, which previously hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics, pointed to the speed of technical improvements.

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

Another spectator, Yang Shangzheng, said the athletic feats showed machines managing activities once exclusive to humans.

Industry experts cited by AP noted that humanoid robots remain confined largely to research, demonstrations and performances, with mass commercial deployment still requiring further technical progress.

Related: X-Humanoid · National Speed Skating Oval · Beijing

Reporting based on Associated Press. Figures and claims are subject to revision as the story develops. DomainFork publishes editorial context, not investment advice — see our editorial standards.