Robotics / News
Beijing's robot sports year: a 50-minute half-marathon and an 8.64 s 100 m
In April a humanoid called Shandian finished a Beijing half-marathon in 50 minutes 26 seconds. In August the second World Humanoid Robot Games ended with 2,056 robots from 666 teams and a Games record of 8.64 seconds in the large-size 100 m. Impressive numbers, but sport records measure one narrow skill under controlled conditions.
At a glance · reported claims
50:26
Winning half-marathon time, 19 April 2026
8.64 s
Large-size 100 m Games record, Tiangong Ultra
2,056
Robots at the Games, from 666 teams
51
Events, 21 of them scenario-based
The April half-marathon
According to the Beijing municipal government, the 2026 Beijing E-Town Half-Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon took place on 19 April. The winner, Shandian from Team Monkey King, finished the roughly 21.1 km course in 50 minutes 26 seconds. More than 100 teams raced the same course, which passed Robot World and BOE's headquarters and included over ten terrain types such as slopes, curves and narrow sections.
Fully autonomous and remotely controlled robots were ranked together but timed separately, and remote-controlled finish times were multiplied by 1.2, so a 60-minute run counted as 72. Robots started one every 30 seconds, a judge in a golf cart logged violations, battery swaps and penalties, and RFID chips with pressure mats recorded times.
The World Humanoid Robot Games in August
CGTN (27 August 2026) reports that the second World Humanoid Robot Games closed in Beijing on 26 August after five days. 2,056 robots from 666 teams took part in 51 events and 1,301 contests. Twenty-one events were scenario-based, covering factory, hotel, supermarket and emergency-response tasks. The third edition is planned for Beijing in August 2027.
Tiangong Ultra, from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, won the large-size 100 m in 8.64 seconds, a Games record. It improved from 9.39 seconds earlier in the Games to 8.86 and then 8.64 in the final. CGTN also lists large improvements over the first edition: the 400 m from 1:28.03 to 38.15, and the 1,500 m from 6:34.40 to 2:21.64.
How to read the records
The 8.64 s figure comes from CGTN, a Chinese state broadcaster, and we have only that one source for the race results. CGTN does not say whether the first-edition comparisons used the same size classes and rules, so the 400 m and 1,500 m improvements should be read as reported, not as controlled before and after tests.
Both events are best understood as stress tests for locomotion, balance and battery management. The scenario events matter more for commercial use, but the source gives no scores or failure rates for them.
What this means for robot buyers
RoboHub's view: speed records say little about the job you want done. Ask whether the robot in the video is the model you can order, or a one-off racing build with a different frame and battery. Compare practical figures instead: runtime per charge, payload, how long a battery swap takes, and how often a human has to step in.
A useful signal from these events is the rule design itself: penalties for remote control, logged battery swaps and timed checkpoints are the same measures a buyer can request in a trial. Ask a supplier for results under comparable logging.
Sources & editorial note
- CGTN · Tiangong Ultra sets 100m record as World Humanoid Robot Games close · 27 August 2026
- Beijing Municipal Government · Half-marathon news · 19 April 2026
An original RoboHub summary and analysis based on the sources listed above. Figures and plans are attributed to the companies and media that published them; RoboHub has not independently tested the robots. This is not a sponsored article.