On your marks, get set, robo! World Humanoid Robot Games begin in Beijing with more than 2,000 robots to compete in five-day event

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:20, 22 August 2026 | Updated: 16:21, 22 August 2026 More than 2,000 robots have gathered for the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, China, today. The second edition of the event, which will last five days, is being held at the National Speed Skating Oval in the nation's capital until August 26. A record-breaking 2,056 robots have been registered by 666 teams to compete at the games which got underway after an opening ceremony and some sports events. Although 96 per cent of the teams entering the games are Chinese, 16 countries from six continents will take part in the 1,301 matches.   The games include competitions modelled on human sports as well as task-based events some of which require fully autonomous robots. World Humanoid Robot Games officials will award independent robots full points but semi-autonomous bots will only receive half points. Out of the 50 events scheduled, 30 are sports competitions while the remaining 20 are work scenario tasks.  Sports-based events include weightlifting, gymnastics, football and even a tug of war. There are also 11 Olympic-style track and field events. Humanoid robots pictured before the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games opening ceremony Three humanoid robots running in the the 100m race during the events opening ceremony A Galbot humanoid robot dives for the ball during a demonstration of a tennis match on August 22 The 20 work-based tasks involve dextrous hand challenges such as bricklaying, power tool assembling and package handling. It is understood that the work competitions act as an opportunity to show where humanoid robots will first be commercially used. However, no events in the 2026 edition of the games will include stairs, ladders, uneven terrain or human-robot collaborations. The games come at an exciting time as robots have recently broken human records at events in China. Chinese scientists recently developed a robot they claim can outrun the fastest human ever, Usain Bolt. The prototype, nicknamed 'Superman', reached speeds of 12.66m per second (28.3mph) as it raced along a track.  In comparison, Mr Bolt reached a speed of 12.42m per second (27.78mph) when he set the world record at the World Athletics Championship in 2009.  The robot has been designed by Unitree, a Hangzhou–based Chinese robotics company best known for developing high–performance robot dogs and humanoid robots. robots perform during the opening ceremony of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing A red humanoid robot runs past a robotic competitor that fell down during the 400m event A humanoid robot falls next to another humanoid robot that caught fire after completing a 100m prelim race It is not just smashing sprinting records, the robot also jumped an impressive two metres vertically into the air from standing. This beats the current human world record, set by US's Christopher Spell in 2021, of 1.7m (5ft 7in) from a standing jump.  The spectacular demonstrations appear to have been designed to showcase the robot's raw physical capabilities, rather than a practical task it could currently perform. However, the video is simply a company demonstration, and the impressive sprint and jump claims have not yet been verified independently. Despite the impressive achievement, robots are still some way off sporting perfection. Another robot taking part in a humanoid half-marathon event tripped and smashed into pieces before it was carried off on a stretcher by medics. The robot fell head first over the starting line during a training session for Beijing's humanoid half-marathon on April 19. After it tripped, the machine smashed to smithereens, with pieces of its bodywork flying up into the air. The prototype, nicknamed 'Superman', reached speeds of 12.66m per second (28.3mph) as it raced along a track Mr Bolt reached a speed of 12.42m per second (27.78mph) when he set the world record at the World Athletics Championship in 2009  The machine also appeared to jump an impressive two metres vertically into the air from standing All that was left of the robot were its legs, flailing helplessly and left twitching on the ground before five paramedics took the robotic remains away. The incident occurred during a rehearsal for the world's first humanoid half-marathon event only days before the official race.  Rehearsals were held between April 11 and 12 in Beijing's E-Town Economic and Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, and was designed to simulate every aspect of the real event. More than 70 teams took part in the practice round, which trialled navigation, timing, equipment, coordination and emergency response.