A two-legged machine from Chinese-backed tech company X-Humanoid clocked a mind-blowing 9.39 seconds in the 100-meter sprint this Saturday, absolutely blowing away Usain Bolt’s legendary human world record at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. Seriously, 9.39! That time utterly crushed Bolt’s 9.58-second mark, which he set way back in 2009 at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
The Wildest Finish You Won’t Believe
This X-Humanoid robot wasn’t just fast, it was world-record-breaking fast. It beat two other machines in the race, including one from smartphone company Honor that *claimed* a 9.32-second test run. But here’s where things get wild: setting a new world record might have been too much for the champ. Or, maybe the X-Humanoid team just forgot to program a brake pedal. Because right after crossing the finish line, this record-breaking sprinter crashed head-first into a cushion at the track’s turn, completely falling apart. We’re talking breaking into several pieces, needing technicians to carry it off on a stretcher. Can you even imagine that? Setting an all-time best, then literally crumbling under the pressure.
More Robot Domination and Digital Fireworks
It wasn’t just the 100-meter dash where robots stole the show. Another X-Humanoid machine went on to top the human record for the standing high jump, clearing an insane 2.88 meters. That’s way higher than Javier Sotomayor’s 2.45-meter human record from 1993. The World Humanoid Robot Games are in their second year, with over 2,000 robots from 16 countries competing in an Olympics-like event. It’s all about showing off China’s insane progress in robotics. We’re talking running, weightlifting, tug of war, table tennis, and even soccer. And the crashes? They were a common theme. Several robots throughout the competition couldn’t stop properly, tripped, fell, and sometimes even shot out sparks or caught fire. Pretty dramatic stuff to watch, I’ll tell you.
Usain Bolt, by the way, was totally unaware his record was shattered by a silicon sprinter. He was busy celebrating his 40th birthday and proposing to his longtime girlfriend in Kingston, Jamaica this weekend. While Bolt was enjoying his personal milestones, the robots were out there rewriting the record books and maybe, just maybe, showing us a glimpse into the future of sports. Who knows what these games will bring next year? We’re going to need to see if X-Humanoid can build a robot that can break a record *and* stick the landing.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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