Tiangong Ultra, a headless Chinese humanoid robot, ran the 100 metres in 9.39 seconds on Saturday, beating Usain Bolt's 2009 world record of 9.58 seconds. The machine was the standout performer at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, where robots also took part in boxing and football.
Rival claim sparks controversy
As in human sport, the event was not without dispute. A rival firm said its robot, Lightning, had run the 100m in 9.32 seconds during a trial before the games began.
More than 2,000 robots from 16 countries are competing across 51 events during the five-day games. Beijing-based firm X-Humanoid, whose robot took the 100m title, also set a high jump record when one of its machines cleared 2.88 metres, surpassing the human best of 2.45 metres.
Spectators amazed
Spectator Yang Shangzheng said of the robot athletes: "I find it amazing."
Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medallist, set his 100m world record of 9.58 seconds at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin on August 16, 2009. The Jamaican had already been Olympic champion and world record holder, but improved his time by 0.11 seconds from the 9.69 he ran at the Beijing Olympics a year earlier.
In that race, American Tyson Gay finished second in a national record of 9.71 seconds, while fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell took third in 9.84. Bolt powered away from his rivals in the second half of the sprint.
