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Runner crawls 200m with broken leg to help teammates finish race

This is the incredible moment a teenage runner refused to quit her relay race despite breaking her leg.

Rei Iida, 19, tripped and broke her leg during the end of her stage of the 42-kilometre race in Japan recently.

But in remarkable scenes, she crawled on in defiance on bloodied hands and knees, unwilling to let her teammates down.

As you can see in the video above, Iida’s actions brought her teammate to tears as she awaited the changeover.

Rei crawled 200m after breaking her leg. Image: Bandicam
Rei crawled 200m after breaking her leg. Image: Bandicam

Officials were originally criticised for not stopping the young runner, even though she reportedly insisted on finishing.

The team manager decided to pull the team out of the race when he heard what had happened, but by that stage it was too late.

The head judge also struggled with the decision whether or not to stop her.

“I struggled to decide whether I should stop her, but I felt she could do it as she was almost at her goal”, the judge told reporters.

Her courage brought her teammate to tears. Source: Bandicam
Her courage brought her teammate to tears. Source: Bandicam

“How many metres are left until my goal?” she reportedly asked.

Her incredible courage has gone viral around the world, with many praising her remarkable efforts.