Jakarta, INTI - A humanoid robot surpassed the human world record in a half-marathon race held in Beijing, China, according to a report by Xinhua News. The humanoid robot, named Flash, was developed by Shenzhen Honor Smart Technology Development Co., Ltd. The robot won the Beijing E-Town Half-Marathon 2026 with a time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds in fully autonomous navigation mode.
This time duration beat the men's half-marathon world record held by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo of 57 minutes and 20 seconds. In the previous year's race, in 2025, humanoid robot Tiangong Ultra won with a time of 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 42 seconds, with only six of the 20 teams completing the race.
The Race Compares Human and Humanoid Robot Performance
The competition drew attention because it compared the performance of humanoid robots with human standards in long-distance races. Although the course was the same, the robots and human runners were placed on separate lanes for safety reasons, with a time limit specifically for the robots set at 3 hours and 40 minutes.
"The setting of coefficient aims to guide and encourage the research and development of autonomous navigation, which represents a technological foundation for humanoid robots to be applied in more scenarios in our daily life towards future," explained Liang Liang, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Institute of Electronics.
Conclusion
A humanoid robot developed by Shenzhen Honor Smart Technology Development Co., Ltd. set a new record by winning the Beijing E-Town Half-Marathon 2026 in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This time duration surpassed Jacob Kiplimo's human record. The event highlighted advances in robot technology, which is now able to rival and even surpass human performance in long-distance races.
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