Incredible moment robot smashes Usain Bolt's 100-metre record of 9.58 seconds

Incredible moment robot smashes Usain Bolt's 100-metre record of 9.58 seconds A headless machine called Tiangong Ultra was the standout performer at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing where stunned spectators spoke of their amazement The fastest athlete on two legs? No, it’s not Usain Bolt. A Chinese humanoid robot smashed the Jamaican sprinter’s 2009 100-metre record of 9.58secs by running it in 9.39. Tiangong Ultra, a headless machine, was the standout performer at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing – which also had bots boxing and playing football. But just like in human sport there was controversy as a rival firm said their robot Lightning ran the 100m in 9.32secs during a trial before the games started. More than 2,000 robots from 16 countries are taking part in the five-day games across 51 events. Beijing-based firm X-Humanoid, whose bot took the 100m, also set a high jump record when one notched 2.88m. The human best is 2.45m. Spectator Yang Shangzheng said of the robot athletes: “I find it amazing.” Bolt, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist, cemented his place in sporting history on August 16, 2009, when he stormed to a stunning 100m world record of 9.58 seconds at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. The Jamaican superstar had already become the Olympic champion and world record holder, but in Germany he somehow found another level. Bolt's time was an astonishing 0.11 seconds faster than his previous world record of 9.69 seconds, set at the Beijing Olympics exactly one year earlier. That remains a remarkable improvement over such a short distance, particularly at the very highest level of sprinting. He was pushed hard by American Tyson Gay, who ran a national record of 9.71 seconds, while fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell finished third in 9.84. Yet Bolt appeared to have the race under control, powering away from his rivals through the second half of the sprint.