China's humanoid robot smashes half marathon world record

A humanoid robot has achieved a remarkable feat in Beijing, completing a half-marathon faster than the human world record, underscoring China's rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics. The groundbreaking performance occurred during a robot race held in the capital on Sunday.

The winning robot, developed by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor, finished the 21-kilometre (13-mile) course in an impressive 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This time significantly outpaced the current human world record holder, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who completed the same distance in approximately 57 minutes at the Lisbon road race in March. The event, which kicked off in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town), showcased a substantial leap from last year’s inaugural competition, where the winning robot took 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds.

Despite the impressive speed, the competition, which ran alongside a human race, was not without its minor glitches. Spectators witnessed one robot topple at the starting line, while another veered off course and collided with a barrier.

Du Xiaodi, Honor's test development engineer, expressed satisfaction with the results. He explained that the robot's design was inspired by elite human athletes, featuring long legs measuring around 95 cm (37 inches), and incorporated a powerful, largely in-house developed liquid-cooling system. Mr Xiaodi suggested that these technologies could find future applications beyond sports, stating: "Looking ahead, some of these technologies might be transferred to other areas. For example, structural reliability and liquid-cooling technology could be applied in future industrial scenarios."

The public reaction highlighted the awe inspired by the robots' progress. Sun Zhigang, who attended the race with his son after witnessing last year's event, remarked: "I feel enormous changes this year. It’s the first time robots have surpassed humans, and that’s something I never imagined." Another spectator, Wang Wen, noted that the robots seemed to overshadow the human runners, adding: "The robots' speed far exceeds that of humans. This may signal the arrival of sort of a new era."

A robot starts off for the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Half Marathon on the outskirts of Beijing on Sunday, April 19, 2026 AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Beijing E-Town reported that approximately 40 per cent of the robots navigated the course autonomously, while the remainder were remotely controlled. State media provided further clarity on the competition's nuances; the Global Times reported that a separate, remotely-controlled Honor robot was the first to cross the finish line in 48 minutes and 19 seconds. However, the championship was awarded to the autonomous robot under the event’s weighted scoring rules. State broadcaster CCTV added that the runners-up, also from Honor and operating autonomously, completed the race in about 51 and 53 minutes respectively. In a lighter moment, a robot was also seen directing participants as a traffic officer, using arm gestures and voice commands.

This technological showcase aligns with China's broader national strategy, where advancements in areas like humanoid robotics are seen as crucial in its technological competition with the United States, carrying significant national security implications. Beijing’s latest five-year plan explicitly vows to "target the frontiers of science and technology," with the acceleration of humanoid robot development and application forming a key part of the 2026-2030 economic plan.

Further underscoring China's growing dominance in this field, a recent report by London-based technology research and advisory group Omdia identified three Chinese companies – AGIBOT, Unitree Robotics, and UBTech Robotics Corp. – as the only "first-tier vendors" in its global assessment for shipments of general-purpose embodied intelligent robots. All three companies shipped over 1,000 units last year, with AGIBOT and Unitree Robotics exceeding 5,000 units each.