This year's World Humanoid Robot Games proved the moment when machines finally got the better of humans.Records fell like dominoes over the weekend - including the 400m sprint, which was shattered by a Chinese robot on Sunday by almost five seconds.The human record was set by South African sprinter Wayde van Niekirk, who ran the distance in 43.03 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics.But a white humanoid bot called Tiangong Ultra thrashed the time when it tore down the track in just 38.15 seconds.It was the second big moment for the model, developed by a local government-backed research centre in Beijing, after it broke Usain Bolt's iconic 100m world record during the opening ceremony on Saturday.Tiangong Ultra's 100m glory was followed immediately by an embarrassing blunder.After beating the fastest man in the world, it failed to decelerate in time and hurtled into a safety mattress.Akin to an injured athlete, the robot was lifted onto stretchers and carried away to be fixed. Tiangong Ultra, bottom, running in the 400m race when it broke the human world record Some of the bots in the 400m race failed to reach the finish line after tumbling to the ground Tiangong humanoid robots march in formation during the opening ceremony of the World Humanoid Robot Games 2026The five-day event being hosted in Beijing's Olympic speed skating arena is only the second instalment of the games. Dozens of humanoids and their human operators have descended on the arena to compete in events from athletics and boxing to football and martial arts.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.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.Spectators erupted into laughter on Sunday as a humanoid in a boxing ring stumbled off to the side and folded over the ropes where it stayed motionless until humans lifted it away.For 72-year-old spectator Hou Yali, the weekend's robot records left her wanting to watch the machines go against humans.'We'll be able to see more clearly whether machines can surpass humans," said Hou, who is retired and lives in Beijing.'Right now, this is just running, just a competition of speed. It's not a test of intelligence, or hiring someone to do household tasks or act as live-in help,' she said.Hou, who pays aides to clean her home and make meals for her weekly, said she would like to see robots do those tasks.'With the development of our country's economy, people have more money in their pockets, and they may decide to use robots,' she said.