Robot Beats Humans In Half Marathon, China's Tech Leap Stuns World

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Robots are no longer just assistants.

[00:00:01]They're breaking records, even outrunning humans in a half marathon in Beijing.

[00:00:07]As China accelerates its push in advanced robotics, this milestone hints at a future where machines may lead the race into a new tech era. Here's a special report for you.

[00:00:25]Robots, once designed to assist, [music] are now surpassing humans.

[00:00:31]If you need someone to dance, you have a robot.

[00:00:36]For your children to play games with, you have a robot.

[00:00:41]Need a pet? A robot got you covered.

[00:00:45]Someone for a job or to volunteer?

[00:00:48]A robot's got you covered.

[00:00:51]Today, robots can do things that humanity once only imagined. And now, [music] they've added another one to the list.

[00:01:05]A humanoid robot has won a half marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday.

[00:01:11]And that's not all. It has surpassed the human world record.

[00:01:17]Yes, that's right. Robots have once again surpassed humans, quite literally.

[00:01:24]The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, has completed the 21-km race in 50 minutes and 26 [music] seconds.

[00:01:35]With this, the robot Lightning has surpassed the human world record holder, Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon Road Race.

[00:01:56]In China, technology has evolved into an area of competition with the US with national security implications.

[00:02:04]Speeding up the development of products like humanoid robots and their applications is part of their 2026 to 2030 plan.

[00:02:30]Beijing's latest five-year plan vows to target the frontiers of science and technology.

[00:02:36]Does this signal a move towards a planet of robots? And if so, is China leading the race?