During the inaugural humanoid half-marathon in China, 21 two-legged robot competitors suffered technical breakdowns, dramatically falling behind human runners and highlighting current limits of robotics in endurance racing.

Under cherry blossoms in Beijing, the crowd watched as Tiangong Ultra—a towering 1.8-meter robot—crossed the finish after 2:40, batteries swapped mid-race, still lagging far behind the human winner. Viral video China fans now debate: will AI ever outrun real athletes?