Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21km course. The robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 1.2m, others as tall as 1.8m. One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more…
Tag: Athletics
Beijing half marathon winner thrown out after trio slowed to let him win
Organisers have revoked He Jie’s first place in the Beijing half marathon last weekend after an investigation confirmed that three other runners had slowed down to let him win the race. All four were disqualified and had to return their medals and prize money. Online users in China had shared the video from the final moments of Sunday’s race out of suspicion that it had been rigged. The footage showed three African runners letting He, China’s top long-distance runner, move ahead of them shortly before they were about to reach…
Beijing half marathon hit by controversy as China’s He Jie allowed to win
Organisers of the Beijing half marathon are investigating the men’s race after two Kenyans and one Ethiopian runner appeared to deliberately allow China’s He Jie to win. Footage of the final few hundred metres of the race seemingly shows Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu Bikila slow down and gesture in front of them, encouraging He to pass and take the lead. The four athletes, who had run together for the whole race, then ran side by side to the finish line, before the three…
Chinese censors block ‘Tiananmen’ image of athletes hugging
A photograph of two Chinese athletes hugging after a race has been censored on Chinese social media because the women’s race numbers inadvertently formed a reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni, China’s entrants in the women’s 100m hurdles final, embraced after the race at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Lin won gold in the race with a time of 12.74 seconds. A photograph of the two women in profile showed Lin’s lane number, 6, next to Wu’s lane number, 4. <gu-island name="TweetBlockComponent" deferuntil="visible"…