Tiangong Ultra crosses the finish line to claim the championship of the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon. Credit: VCG. CGTN
Times are changing fast — and events that seemed like science fiction just a few years ago are now a reality. In Beijing, China, the world just witnessed its first-ever half marathon (21km) run entirely by robots.
As the starting gun fired, dozens of androids took off, some even grooving to the music blasting from the event’s speakers. The star of the show? A robot named Tiangong Ultra, who powered through the course and crossed the finish line first with a time of 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 42 seconds — averaging between 7 and 8 km/h. It led the race from the start, despite needing three pit stops to change its battery and even taking a tumble due to a power glitch.
Video credit: CGTN Sports Scene
Meanwhile, human runners also took on the 21km course — many completely stunned by the sight of robots zooming past and pulling out their phones to record the spectacle.
According to the engineers behind the bots, events like these are more than just a novelty — they’re helping to lay the groundwork for robots to take on a bigger role in our daily lives.
To ensure safety, the robots had their own lanes, separated by barriers and green zones to avoid interference. A time limit of 3 hours and 30 minutes was set for all robot runners. The race also featured a “tech relay” format, allowing teams to swap batteries or even switch out entire robots — though each substitution came with a 10-minute penalty.
The race was open to tech companies, research institutes, robotics clubs, and universities. And this is just the beginning — Beijing officials say another humanoid robot sports event is already on the calendar for August.
