China: Robot beats human record to win half-marathon

An android has outpaced the entire field at a half-marathon in Beijing, finishing faster than the human world record.

The robot, named Lightning and developed by Chinese smartphone maker, Honor, completed the 21-kilometre race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds on Sunday.

As reported by CNN, that time is more than six minutes faster than the official human half-marathon record of 57 minutes and 20 seconds, held by Ugandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo, according to World Athletics.

The bright-red humanoid, standing 169cm tall and swinging its short forearms for balance, maintained steady pace throughout the race and showed no visible signs of slowing before crossing the finish line.