For more than 15 years, Usain Bolt’s 100m world record has been an untouchable benchmark for the fastest humans on the planet.

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Apparently, robots didn’t get that memo.

A humanoid machine has completed the 100 metres faster than Bolt’s legendary 9.58-second run from the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

There was just one fairly significant problem.

Once it had crossed the finish line, it hadn’t quite worked out how to stop.

The remarkable run came courtesy of Tiangong Ultra, a two-legged humanoid robot developed by Beijing-based X-Humanoid, also known as the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, per Sky News.

Competing during the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, Tiangong Ultra completed a preliminary 100m heat in just 9.39 seconds.

That made the machine 0.19 seconds quicker over the distance than Bolt’s famous world-record time.

And incredibly, it wasn’t the only robot in the race to beat the Jamaican legend’s benchmark.

Tiangong Ultra had been trailing Honor’s Lightning robot earlier in the contest before overtaking it close to the finish.

Lightning ultimately crossed the line in 9.47 seconds – also comfortably inside Bolt’s 9.58.

The performances arrived as part of a huge five-day event featuring 2,056 robots representing 666 teams from 16 countries.

There were 51 events in total, split between 30 sporting competitions and 21 challenges designed around real-world tasks.

Running was only one part of it.

Robots also competed in soccer, table tennis, weightlifting and tug of war, while other events included dancing and Tai Chi. Machines were additionally tested on factory work, restaurant service and emergency response tasks.

But while Tiangong Ultra proved it can cover 100 metres at a frightening pace, what happened immediately afterwards showed there are still some areas where humans have the upper hand.

Neither of the rapid robots was able to smoothly slow itself down after reaching the finish.

Instead, both continued charging towards a thick cushioned barrier placed at the end of the track.

Tiangong Ultra hit the barrier before stumbling towards the sidelines, while Lightning came off considerably worse, collapsing after the impact and ultimately having to be carried away.

So while Bolt may have technically been outpaced over 100 metres, he can at least claim a fairly decisive victory in the stopping department.

There is also an important distinction surrounding the record itself.

Tiangong Ultra’s 9.39-second performance does not replace Bolt’s official World Athletics world record, which remains the benchmark for human competition.

But in terms of simply covering the same distance against the clock, the robot has now managed something no recorded human athlete has done.

It has run 100 metres faster than Usain Bolt.

Now somebody just needs to teach it where the brakes are.

Featured image credit: CGTN / YouTube (screenshot)