A humanoid robot has completed a 100-meter sprint in 9.32 seconds, beating the world record set by sprinter Usain Bolt.

Named Lightning, the machine attained a peak velocity of 14.5 meters per second during a preparatory trial for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which began in Beijing on Saturday.

The run surpassed the men's 100-meter world benchmark of 9.58 seconds, which Bolt set at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2009.

Lightning, designed by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor, also finished first in the 21-kilometer Beijing half marathon in April in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, running faster than the elite men's human world-record pace.

At the time of the half marathon, the robot measured 169 centimeters in height with 95-centimeter legs. Researchers later expanded its leg length by 10 centimeters to 1.05 meters ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games, China Central Television reported.

More than 2,000 humanoid robots were participating in the event, the organizer said.

The five-day games, now in its second year, are a spectacle demonstrating China’s rapid progress in advanced robotics as the technology race with the U.S. heats up, with 51 events and more than 1,000 competitions taking place including running, table tennis and soccer.

The games, which are taking place in the National Speed Skating Oval built for the 2022 Winter Olympics, opened the same week as Beijing held the 2026 World Robot Conference, where companies showcased around 3,000 products, including humanoid robots.

China makes the majority of the world's humanoid robots. The U.S. has stepped up scrutiny of robots from the country.

Last month, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots. The FCC cited national security reasons in a move that targeted China.

The Pentagon recently also added Unitree, one of China’s leading humanoid robot makers, to its list of companies that it deemed have ties with the Chinese military. Beijing has hit back at the accusations.

Some spectators at the robot games said they were excited about the humanoid robots’ quickly improving abilities.

Humanoid robots are “evolving rapidly,” said Li Yanfeng, an education worker and a Beijing resident.

“At first, I wasn’t very accepting of artificial intelligence. I was even a bit resistant to it, because of the possibility that it might replace or displace humans,” she said. “But now that I see this development is unstoppable, I decided to come and take a look.”

“These sports are perfectly normal for humans, but now robots can do them. I find it amazing,” said Yang Shangzheng, another spectator.

Liu Tao, who was watching the games with his son, said that he was hoping to see “the best robots China currently has to offer.”

This year’s robot games — which the organizer said has 16 countries participating, among them Germany, Japan and the U.S. — also include other events such as weightlifting and tug of war.