Beijing’s Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot won the first gold medal of the second World Humanoid Robot Games on August 23, taking the 400m large-size final in 38.15 seconds at the National Speed Skating Oval, known as the “Ice Ribbon.”
The time was 4.88 seconds quicker than the men’s human 400m world record of 43.03 seconds, set by South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It is a striking timing comparison, though not an athletics world record: the robot event operates under its own technical specifications and competition rules. World Athletics, China News Service
Tiangong Ultra, entered by the Tiangong team and developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center（北京人形机器人创新中心）, led a Chinese sweep of the podium. Honor-backed Chasing Wind Zai Zai finished second in 39.45 seconds, followed by the Jinghong Power team in 39.66 seconds; both times were also below van Niekerk’s benchmark. Beike Finance
The Tiangong line added two more track titles that day. Tiangong Omni won the 400m small-size final in 45.66 seconds, while Tiangong Ultra, racing for the Tianzhuo team, took the 1,500m title in 2:21.64. Omni drew particular attention for its apparent “face-covering” running posture. The development team said the pose emerged through simulation-based training rather than being directly programmed, helping reduce shoulder-joint load and manage energy use over the race. Sina Tech, Yicai
The 2026 games, running from August 22 to 26, expanded the autonomy requirement for track events. The 400m, 1,500m and 4×100m relay were designated fully autonomous events, requiring robots to complete the races through onboard perception, decision-making and control rather than remote operation. Xinhua
Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center was established in 2023 and became the National and Local Co-Built Embodied Intelligent Robot Innovation Center in 2024. Its core offerings include the Embodied Tiangong humanoid platform and the Huisi Kaiwu embodied-AI platform, with the company emphasizing open interfaces and applications ranging from industrial handling and inspection to guided-service tasks. Center profile
The results underline the rapid improvement of Chinese humanoid robots in high-speed, autonomous locomotion. But the commercial significance will depend less on competition times than on whether the same control systems can deliver reliable, economical performance in factories, logistics sites and service environments.