A Chinese humanoid robot ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds in a preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, faster than the men’s world record held by Jamaican ​sprinting great Usain Bolt.

Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won its ​heat at the opening of the games’ second edition, organisers said.

The robot overtook ⁠smartphone maker Honor’s Lightning near the finish after falling behind early in the race. Lightning finished ​in 9.47 seconds, also faster than the 9.58-second record Bolt set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships ​in Berlin.

The results marked a sharp improvement from last year’s inaugural games, when Tiangong Ultra won the 100 metres in 21.50 seconds. Tiangong also won the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon, held in Beijing last year.

Earlier on Saturday, Chinese ​state media reported that Lightning had run 100 metres in 9.32 seconds in a preparatory test, ​reaching a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second.

Lightning won this year’s humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 ‌seconds, faster ⁠than the pace of the elite men’s human world record.

Lightning stood 169 cm tall and had 95-cm legs during the half-marathon. Its researchers later lengthened its legs by 10 cm, to 1.05 metres, ahead of the games, according to broadcaster CCTV.

The 100 metres is among 51 events at the games, ​which include football, dancing and ​industrial-task contests

China sees humanoid robots as strategic industry

China has promoted humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and companies betting that advances in AI and hardware ​will accelerate their use in manufacturing, logistics and consumer applications.

Investor enthusiasm for the ​sector was ⁠on display earlier this week when shares in Unitree, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, jumped more than five fold in its Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about $50 billion.

This year’s ⁠games have ​drawn 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries and ​six continents, up from 280 teams at the inaugural event.

The games, held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, run through Wednesday.