Robots Crash, Burn, and Catch Fire at China’s ‘Robot Olympics’

China’s second World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off Saturday in Beijing, where robots sprinted, played soccer, and boxed—but often stumbled, crashed into walls, and even caught fire. The five-day competition features Olympic-style events for humanoid robots. In a test run, a robot named “Lightning” ran the 100-meter sprint faster than Usain Bolt’s world-record time, according to Chinese state media. Saturday’s events included preliminary 100-meter and 400-meter races, a 7-on-7 soccer match, and short demonstrations of other sports. The robots can reach high speeds, but slowing down is harder. A blue padded wall stood at the end of the track, and several robots slammed into it violently. Some lost limbs. After each race, a four-person stretcher team carried the damaged machines off the field. In one run, a robot briefly caught fire before being put out with an extinguisher. This year’s Games add new events, including tug-of-war, weightlifting, tennis, and traditional Chinese martial arts. Over 2,000 robots are expected to compete, according to state media. The opening ceremony featured more than 100 robots parading around the track. A soccer match followed, but the pace was slow. At times, robots stood motionless while the ball passed by. In one moment, a blue robot kicked an opponent and received a yellow card. A low-speed tennis match between a human and a robot followed, with the human winning the point. The spectacle comes as China pours money into its humanoid robot industry. Shares in Unitree, a Chinese robotics company known for its dancing and backflipping robots, surged as much as 629% on Wednesday in its trading debut before closing up 460%. The company dominates a market that Morgan Stanley analysts predict could be worth $7.5 trillion by 2050. China is also hosting the 2026 World Robot Conference in the same city. Humanoid robots are a source of national pride, but limitations in AI systems still prevent widespread real-world use. The US is racing to catch up. Robotics startups raised a record $15 billion globally in 2025, and another $18.8 billion so far this year. Attendance at Actuate, a San Francisco robotics conference, has tripled in two years. However, US innovation is limited by a lack of hardware. Last month, the FCC imposed restrictions on foreign-made advanced robotic devices, making it harder for US firms to buy cheap Chinese parts. There may still be time. Unitree’s CEO said this week that the industry’s “ChatGPT moment” could be a decade away.