Chinese Robot Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds, Beats Bolt's Record
A humanoid robot developed by Honor achieved a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Photograph: Erik van Leeuwen via Wikimedia Commons (GFDL)
What this story says
- A humanoid robot developed by China's Honor completed a 100-meter run in 9.32 seconds.
- The robot's performance surpassed the human world record previously held by Usain Bolt.
- During the run, the robot reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second.
- China's state broadcaster reported on the robot's performance.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 12 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 4 of the 16 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
55/100
Hype
68/100
16 sources · methodology
A humanoid robot created by Chinese manufacturer Honor has run 100 meters in 9.32 seconds. This time is faster than the human world record set by Usain Bolt. During the run, the robot achieved a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second. China's state broadcaster reported on the robot's performance.
Coverage comparison
The digests from Il Messaggero, WTVB, Reuters, and The Source all reported that the robot ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds and beat Usain Bolt's record. They also noted its peak speed of 14.5 meters per second. Cyprus Mail and WTVB mentioned the robot was dubbed 'Lightning', and The Source referred to it as 'Superman'.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated digests mentioned the specific robot developer, Honor, or the robot's 100-meter time of 9.32 seconds. They also did not mention the peak speed of 14.5 meters per second.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 22 Aug 2026, 12:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- Digests from Kotaku and Newser reported on robots but did not mention the Honor robot's 100-meter run or its speed. Kotaku's digest focused on a robot that broke in half after hitting a wall, and Newser's digest discussed a robot named Superman from robotics firm Unitree that reached a top speed of 28.3mph.
Centre
5 rated outlets
- Digests from Il Messaggero, WTVB, Reuters, and The Source all reported that the robot ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds and beat Usain Bolt's record. They also noted its peak speed of 14.5 meters per second. Cyprus Mail and WTVB mentioned the robot was dubbed 'Lightning', and The Source referred to it as 'Superman'.
Right
3 rated outlets
- The digest from Cyprus Mail reported that a humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds, beating the human world record held by Usain Bolt. It stated China's state broadcaster reported this on Saturday and that the robot, dubbed Lightning, reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Chinese Robot Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds, Beats Bolt's Record?
- Of the 12 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 33% are rated left, 42% are rated centre, 25% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 16. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Chinese Robot Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds, Beats Bolt's Record left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 12 rated outlets on this story, 33% are rated left, 42% are rated centre, 25% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Chinese Robot Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds, Beats Bolt's Record biased?
- Chinese Robot Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds, Beats Bolt's Record is one event reported by 16 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Chinese Robot Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds, Beats Bolt's Record?
- 16 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How fast did the Chinese robot run?
- The humanoid robot developed by China's Honor ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds. This performance surpassed the human world record previously held by Usain Bolt. During its run, the robot reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second.
- Which company developed the robot?
- The humanoid robot that ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds was developed by China's smartphone manufacturer Honor. China's state broadcaster reported on the robot's performance, which beat the human world record.
- Did the robot's performance beat Usain Bolt's record?
- Yes, the humanoid robot developed by Honor ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds, beating the human world record previously held by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. The robot also achieved a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second.
Read it at the source
16 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Usain Bolt’s 100m record broken at World Humanoid Robot Games (opens Al Jazeera in a new tab)
Al Jazeera — is Al Jazeera biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record in test run (opens Breaking News in a new tab)
Breaking News — is Breaking News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Robot Busted In Half After Racing Top Speed Straight Into A Wall (opens Kotaku in a new tab)
- Usain Bolt Could Not Outrun New Robot, Unitree Says (opens Newser in a new tab)
Centre
5- Chinese Robot Runs 100 Meters in 9"32, Beat Bolt's Record (opens ANSA in a new tab)
- Chinese Humanoid Robot Races 100 Meters in 9'32", Beat the Record of Bolt: Reached a Maximum Speed of 14.5 Meters per Second (opens Il Messaggero in a new tab)
Il Messaggero — is Il Messaggero biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chinese humanoid robot ‘Lightning’ beats human 100m world record, state media says (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record in test run (opens Reuters in a new tab)
- WTF? China’s Humanoid Robot 'Superman' Reaches Peak Speeds Faster Than Usain Bolt (opens The Source in a new tab)
The Source — is The Source biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
3- Chinese humanoid robot beats Usain Bolt’s 100m record in 9.32 seconds (opens The News in a new tab)
- Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt’s 100m world record in test run (opens Cyprus Mail in a new tab)
Cyprus Mail — is Cyprus Mail biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
4- Humanoid Robot Beats Usain Bolt's 100m World Record (opens ORF.at News in a new tab)
ORF.at News — is ORF.at News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Humanoid Robot Beats Usain Bolt's 100m World Record (opens Tiroler Tageszeitung Online in a new tab)
Tiroler Tageszeitung Online — is Tiroler Tageszeitung Online biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Faster than Usain Bolt: Chinese Robot Lightning Breaks 100 (opens nin.rs in a new tab)
- Honor's Humanoid Robot "Lightning" Ran 9.32 Seconds in the 100-Meter Test. (opens unsafe.sh in a new tab)
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
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