This is the surreal moment a human-shaped robot participating in a race ploughs into a staff member and keeps running like nothing happened, leaving him lying on the track in pain.

The scene was recorded by audience members during the World Humanoid Robot Games held in Beijing, China, on 15th August.

The event - first of its kind - featured more than 500 humanoid robots from countries including Japan, Germany and the US competing in various sports, including a 1,500-metre race.

Footage shows Unitree’s H1 humanoid robot advancing towards the finish line when it suddenly ran into a staff member from behind.

The worker was knocked flat, but H1 did not slow down, racing on to win the gold medal in six minutes 34.40 seconds, setting a new world record for humanoid robots.

The incident went viral online with more than 2 million likes and being shared over 1.5 million times as viewers blasted the machine for a "hit-and-run".

Thankfully, the worker escaped serious injury.

Robot hits man at running track in Yushu, China. The video was shared on Douyin - the Chinese version of TikTok on Aug. 15, 2025. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (AsiaWire/NX)

Unitree founder Wang Xingxing admitted the robot was at least partly under remote control during the race so it could have been a case of human error, adding: "Next time we won’t remote control it."

The H1, priced at CNY 650,000 (GBP 66,800), also went on to win the 400-metre race.

(Simona Kitanovska / newsX)