A marathon runner in China who dragged a nine-year-old boy around a half-marathon using a rope has been handed a three-year ban and had his result erased.

Video clips of the child with a rope around his waist struggling to keep up as the pair competed in the Zhengzhou Marathon in Henan province have gone viral, and sparked intense debate online.

While some social media users expressed surprise at the boy’s endurance, most condemned the incident, which is believed to have involved a father and son, as a dangerous breach of safety rules.

According to official competition regulations, runners must be at least 20 years old for a full marathon and 18 for a half-marathon.

Organisers note in the competition rules that marathons are “high-intensity, high-risk events” requiring good physical health and regular running preparation, advising runners to select suitable events based on their physical condition.

On Friday, an official from the Zhengzhou Marathon organising committee announced the ban and the removal of the man’s result.

Multiple runners claimed online to have passed the pair during the race, with several estimating the duo had averaged around eight minutes per mile.

This is not the first time underage individuals have been illegally entered into long-distance races.

At last month’s Taiyuan Marathon, an entrant, surnamed Yuan, put his bib on a minor and brought the child onto the track. Organisers issued a similar punishment, although the ban was only for two years.

Earlier this year, during the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, a man was seen running while holding a baby in one arm and a phone in his other hand. The Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates later confirmed the violation, stating race staff intercepted the runner mid-course and escorted him and the infant off the track.

Medical experts have previously warned of the health risks associated with minors running marathons.

Guo Jianjun, a professor at the Capital University of Physical Education and Sports’ Centre for Sports and Medicine Integration Innovation, said because minors were not fully developed physically, running long distances carried the risk of fracturing and cracking still growing bones.

Chen Xueli, the head of rehabilitation medicine at Beijing Shijitan Hospital, added that elevated body temperatures during marathons posed severe risks to children because of their poor thermoregulation and undeveloped cardiac systems.

“Moreover, in mass events like marathons where emergencies easily arise, children with lower social maturity also lack the ability to handle such issues,” Chen said.