The second World Humanoid Robot Games opened in Beijing last Saturday.

More than 2,000 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries are taking part — four times the size of last year’s event.

And some of the robots are already outperforming humans in events that have taken decades for us to master.

In the 100-meter sprint, a robot from the Tianzhuo team clocked 9.39 seconds, breaking the previous record from last year — and even beating Usain Bolt’s human world record of 9.58 seconds.

Another robot, Tiangong Ultra, jumped 2.8843 meters from a standing position. That is well above the human high-jump record of 2.45 meters, set by Javier Sotomayor in 1993.

Last year, the best humanoid robot managed just 0.95 meters.

In just one year, they went from roughly elementary-school level to beyond a world champion.

The Guardian described China’s progress in advanced robotics as remarkably rapid. The Associated Press also noted that the vast majority of humanoid robots around the world are made in China.

But one moment from the competition went viral for a very different reason.

During the 400-meter race, one robot suddenly pulled its arms up in front of its face, almost as if it were embarrassed.

The engineers said that was not programmed.

Swinging its arms was putting too much strain on its shoulders. During training, the robot apparently found that running without swinging its arms used less energy — and simply stuck with the new habit.

The competition includes 51 events and more than 1,300 individual matchups.

The robots play soccer, perform Tai Chi, compete in tug-of-war and weightlifting, and take on precision tasks such as tightening screws, picking up beans, and opening bottles.

Except for the obstacle course, where humans help judge certain situations, the robots operate autonomously across all competitive events.

No remote controls.

Once the whistle blows, they have to assess the situation, make decisions, and complete the task on their own.

And that is where the real test begins.

The point is not simply whether a robot can run fast or jump high. Engineers are testing whether its “brain” can make decisions in a constantly changing environment.

What happens when the friction of the ground changes during a sprint? How does a robot adjust its posture when wind affects a jump? When an obstacle suddenly appears, can it recalculate its route in real time?

Those decisions have to be made constantly, often within fractions of a second.

The five-day event will close on August 26.

Engineers are already promising faster speeds, more precise movements, and fewer mistakes next year.

As for the robot that kept running with its face covered, its engineers are now training it to stop doing that.

After all, having emotions is a human thing.

Robots don’t need to be shy.