A Japanese woman who broke her leg while running in a long-distance relay has been hailed as a hero after crawling more than 200 metres to tag the next runner.

Key points: The 19-year-old tripped during race

The 19-year-old tripped during race Completed section on all fours

Completed section on all fours Doctors said her fractured tibia could take four months to heal

Rei Iida was near the end of her 3.5km stretch of the Iwatani Sangyo relay marathon in Fukuoka Prefecture when she fell, fracturing her tibia, but refused to retire from the race.

The 19-year-old university student finished her race on her hands and knees, bloodied from the rough pavement.

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Ms Iida's teammate became visibly emotional as she approached, wiping away tears before taking the relay sash to continue the run.

It took Ms Iida roughly five minutes to crawl between 200m and 300m to finish her leg of the race, Japanese masthead Mainichi reported.

Footage of the race was broadcast on Japanese television in October, but the vision is now going viral after it was shared on Twitter this week.

The vision has been viewed more than 11 million times since Sunday, attracting praise for Ms Iida's "courage" and "indomitable spirit".

However, it also prompted debate over whether officials should have stepped in to stop the injured 19-year-old.

"I struggled to decide whether I should stop her, but I felt she could do it as she was almost at her goal," the race's head judge was quoted by UK's The Telegraph.

It was reported Ms Iida's team's manager pulled the team from the event immediately after receiving word of her injury.

Doctors said Ms Iida's injury would take between three and four months to heal.