Running · Published
A robot ran a half-marathon in 50:26. Read the fine print before the headline.
From 2:40:42 to 50:26 in one year is a large jump. What changed, and what the two times cannot tell you.
Running · Sport desk
Half-marathon and track events where humanoids are timed against a clock, sometimes beside human runners.
This is a selected evidence file, not a complete current world ranking. A source link is not independent verification.
Desk reporting
Running results
Autonomous and remote-controlled runs are charted separately. Organisers applied scoring adjustments in some events, so a scored time is not always the raw finishing time.
Humanoid half-marathon: winning times by edition
Finishing time, 21.0975 km course · seconds
Historical winners, not a head-to-head ranking. The 2026 winner used autonomous navigation; the 2025 team described wireless-lead following navigation and three battery changes. Rules, hardware and operating conditions differ across editions.
| Competitor | Result | Evidence date | Control mode | Classification | Notes and source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honor “Lightning” (Qitian Dasheng team) | 0:50:26 | 2026-04-19 | Autonomous navigation | Source-reported result | Reported by event organisers as the winning time. Outlets used the names “Lightning” and “Flash” for the winning Honor robot. PBS News / Associated Press |
| Tiangong Ultra (Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center) | 2:40:42 | 2025-04-19 | Not specified / not applicable; see notes | Organiser or state-media reported | 2025 winner. The team described wireless-lead following navigation and three battery changes; not assumed equivalent to the 2026 autonomous-navigation category. Beijing municipal government portal |
Humanoid half-marathon: first across the line, remote-controlled
Finishing time, 21.0975 km course · seconds
Single entry. A remote-controlled robot is piloted by people, so it is not ranked against autonomous runs.
| Competitor | Result | Evidence date | Control mode | Classification | Notes and source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honor remote-controlled robot | 0:48:19 | 2026-04-19 | Remote-controlled | Organiser or state-media reported | Global Times, relayed by the Associated Press, reported this robot crossed first but did not take the championship, which went to an autonomous entry under weighted scoring rules. PBS News / Associated Press |
World Humanoid Robot Games 2025: 1,500 m winner
Winning time · seconds
2025 winner only; not a current world ranking. Navigation modes and event scoring must be checked before comparing this mark with autonomous-only runs.
| Competitor | Result | Evidence date | Control mode | Classification | Notes and source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lingyi Technology team (Unitree) | 6:34.40 | 2025-08-15 | Not specified / not applicable; see notes | Organiser or state-media reported | Beijing News reported 39 teams, 11 heats and an 84.6% completion rate. Retained at team scope: the cited result names the team, not a hardware revision. Beijing News (新京报) |
World Humanoid Robot Games 2025: 400 m winner
Winning time · seconds
Winner only. Different event from the 1,500 m and half-marathon and not charted against them.
| Competitor | Result | Evidence date | Control mode | Classification | Notes and source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaoyi Technology team | 1:28.03 | 2025-08-15 | Not specified / not applicable; see notes | Organiser or state-media reported | Beijing News reported 59 teams, 19 heats and an 84.7% completion rate. The cited result is retained at team scope, without assigning it to a current robot model. Beijing News (新京报) |
Continuing coverage from the news archive
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