A teenage runner in a relay marathon in Japan is being applauded for her never-say-die spirit for insisting on crawling the last 700 feet of her section of the race after falling and fracturing her right leg.

Rei Iida, a university student who was competing for the Iwatani Sangyo corporate “ekiden” relay marathon team in Sunday’s race in Fukuoka Prefecture, tripped and fell towards the end of her 2.2-mile stretch of the 26-mile race.

Footage aired on Japanese television shows the 19-year-old Ms Iida being shepherded by a race marshal as she crawled along the tarmac, leaving streaks of blood from her hands and knees on the white road markings.

“She has a strong sense of responsibility”, a spectator at the event told the Asahi newspaper. “I admire her and want to applaud her”.

In a message sent to Iwatani Sangyo, another member of the public said: “We are moved by her perseverance.”