Chinese humanoid robot beats half-marathon world record in Beijing
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A Chinese-made humanoid robot broke the manned half marathon world record in Beijing on Sunday, marking a groundbreaking moment in a high-stakes global race for technological supremacy.
A robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor completed the 21-kilometer (13-mile) race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human record of nearly 57 minutes set by Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo last month.
The performance marked a dramatic improvement from last year’s inaugural event, when the top robot finished in more than 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Dozens of humanoid robots raced alongside nearly 12,000 human runners, navigating a parallel route to avoid collisions.
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A robot crossed the finish line at the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, held on the outskirts of Beijing on April 19, 2026. (Andy Wong/AP)
Almost half of the robots operate using autonomous navigation, while others rely on remote control, organizers said.
Despite this great progress, the race still had its setbacks; Some robots initially stumbled or veered into barriers.
The winning robot was designed to mimic elite athletes, with long legs of about 37 inches and advanced cooling systems to sustain performance, engineers said.
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“Looking ahead, we may see some of these technologies being transferable to other areas,” said Du Xiaodi, an engineer from the Honor team. “For example, structural reliability and liquid cooling technology can be applied in future industrial scenarios.”
Team members celebrate next to the winning Honor Lightning humanoid robot during the medal ceremony following the second Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon on April 19, 2026 in Beijing, China. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
The audience reacted with a mixture of surprise and uneasiness to the rapid progress of the machines.
“For the first time, robots have surpassed humans, and this is something I never imagined,” Sun Zhigang, who attended the event with his son, told The Associated Press.
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“The speed of robots far exceeds that of humans,” bystander Wang Wen told the outlet. “This could signal the arrival of a new era.”
A robot starts alongside human runners at the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Half Marathon, held on the outskirts of Beijing on April 19, 2026. (Ng Han Guan/AP)
Experts say the race underscores China’s growing push to dominate robotics and artificial intelligence, although widespread commercial use of humanoid robots remains limited, according to Reuters. Chinese robotics firms are still working to develop the artificial intelligence software needed for humanoids to match the efficiency of human factory workers, experts said.
Runners take photos of a humanoid robot during the second Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in Beijing, April 19, 2026. (Pool Photo via Haruna Furuhashi/AP)
“The future will definitely be an era of artificial intelligence,” engineering student Chu Tianqi told Reuters. “If people don’t know how to use AI anymore… they will absolutely become obsolete.”
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The rivalry underscores a broader technological race between China and the United States, as Beijing invests heavily in advanced robotics as part of its long-term economic strategy.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
