Robot Beats Bolt: Honor's Lightning Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds
A humanoid robot built by the Chinese smartphone maker Honor has run 100 metres in 9.32 seconds, faster than any human has ever covered the distance. According to China's state broadcaster CCTV, the robot — known as Lightning — clocked the time during a preparatory test event for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, reported to begin on Saturday. The Guardian
The mark beats the 9.58 seconds Usain Bolt ran to set the men's 100m world record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin — a record that has stood for 17 years. Lightning reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second during the test event. Bolt's average pace when he set his record was about 10.44 metres per second. The Guardian; Interesting Engineering
Lightning is no stranger to long distances either. The same robot, also nicknamed Flash in earlier CGTN coverage, won a humanoid robot half-marathon in Beijing, completing 21.1 kilometres in 50 minutes and 26 seconds — roughly seven minutes inside the human world record for the distance. IEEE Spectrum; CGTN Africa via Facebook
Days before the sprint was announced, CGTN reported that Honor was putting the robot through training specifically aimed at breaking Bolt's 9.58-second mark. The target has now been hit. CGTN via Facebook; Forbes MENA via Facebook
For athletics fans, the comparison is inevitable but also imperfect. Bolt's record was set under World Athletics rules — starting blocks, electronic timing, wind gauges, and drug testing. Lightning's run was clocked at a robot Games test event under a different framework. The number 9.32 is real; the context is its own.
What makes the moment compelling is less the rivalry between flesh and metal than the sheer pace of progress. In April, Lightning's sprint training was already drawing attention for its raw speed. Four months later, the robot has run faster than the fastest human who ever lived. The second World Humanoid Robot Games, starting this weekend, will show whether Lightning can repeat the feat under competition conditions — and whether any rival machine can chase it down.
