Robot smashes human record in half-marathon – as another self-destructed
There was no stopping Lightning – nor the Honor team, which took the top three spots with its humanoid models...
The era of us laughing at humanoids playing sport may now be behind us – for the most part – as a field of robots competing in a half marathon in Beijing demonstrated how frighteningly fast the technology has developed in just 12 months. Even if one model had a day to forget, smashing into pieces after tripping at the starting line, the record-setting winner is a sign of things to come.
That winner, a lesser known Chinese autonomous-navigation robot known as Lightning, is the work of tech company Honor – better known for its smartphones and laptops. The robot smashed the course in Beijing’s E-Town economic and technological development zone on Sunday, April 19, crossing the finish line in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. To date, the fastest recorded human time is 57 minutes, 20 seconds.
China Global Television Network captured Lightning sprinting right through the finish-line ribbon, looking like it could keep running for days.
🤖⚡48:19! “Lightning” of China’s HONOR cross first at 2026 Humanoid Robot Half Marathon 🇨🇳
The 169-cm-tall (5.5-ft) robot is a perfect example of just how far Chinese humanoids have advanced in only a year, where the focus – as we witnessed at the recent InnoEx expo in Hong Kong – appears to be on joint mobility and operational efficiency. According to China Daily, Lightning has a peak torque of 400 Nm and hosts a “liquid-cooling system [which] features cooling channels that penetrate deep into the motor’s interior like capillaries to dissipate heat, while a high-power liquid pump generates a heat-exchange flow exceeding four liters per minute.” Essentially, it can set a half-marathon world record without breaking a sweat – in robot terms, anyway.
It’s also worth remembering that a half-marathon is no “walk in the park” at 13.1 miles (21.1 km). At my peak, I could run just over six miles (around 10 km) in 50 minutes, which isn’t at all fast by competition standards, but these bots can now run laps – literally – around us casual joggers. And I bet their recovery is a damn sight easier, too.
The autonomous competitors were guided around the course by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and 5G real-time information, while the assisted humanoids were trailed by teams operating their movements by remote control. Overall, more than 100 groups entered their running machines in the race, with the top three spots claimed by robots developed by Honor.
That said, the event wasn’t without incident – even the winner, which led for the whole race, collided with a barricade and fell over during the final stretch of the track, but staff were on hand to rescue it and it went on to complete the race and still claim the record. Another robot wasn’t so lucky, tripping at the starting line and quite literally falling apart.
Its support team then flew into action, rushing out with a stretcher to pick up the many pieces of its body and limbs strewn across the course.
Moment marathon-running robot shatters after tripping as medical team rush over with stretcher
Better luck next year, buddy.
Meanwhile, we have added some other race highlights in our gallery, if you want to see a snapshot of the record-setting race.
Source: China Daily
New Arrival: “The COVID Code” by Zowe Smith
The Art of Liberty Foundation is proud to help promote and distribute a story they didn’t want told: The COVID Code: My Life in the Thrill Kill Medical Cult by Zowe Smith. More than a personal journey, this book documents the dark influence of Big Pharma over Western medicine. Zowe Smith, a former healthcare employee, shares a shocking insider’s account of the systemic fraud she witnessed behind hospital doors.
She uncovers how the current system is capable of murdering patients for profit while hiding its crimes by lying with statistics—specifically through the ICD coding system. Readers looking for truth, resistance, and redemption will find all three in these pages. Once you start reading, you won’t look at the medical establishment or public health the same way again.
Get Your Copy Today:
Paperback Edition: Purchase The COVID Code now for $25.00 exclusively at ArtOfLiberty.org/Store.
Support the Art of Liberty Foundation’s Mission:
Go paid at the $5 a month level, and we will send you both the PDF and e-Pub versions of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It - 25 Techniques the Few Use to Control the Many, the PDF of Hayek for the 21st Century and a coupon code for 10% off anything in the https://artofliberty.org/store/.
Go paid at the $50 a year level, and we will send you a free paperback edition of The Covid Code – My Life in the Thrill Kill Medical Cult by Zowe Smith OR Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It OR “Government” - The Biggest Scam in History… Exposed! OR a 64GB Liberator flash drive PLUS a paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century if you live in the US.
Support us at the $250 Founding Member Level and get a free paperback edition of The Covid Code – My Life in the Thrill Kill Medical Cult by Zowe Smith AND a signed high-resolution hardcover of “Government” - The Biggest Scam in History... Exposed! + Liberator flash drive AND a signed high-resolution hardcover of Etienne’s new book: To See the Cage Is to Leave It PLUS everything else in our “Everything Bundle” PLUS a paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century delivered domestically.
Lamborgini and F35 beat us too