Teens collapse after 1,000-meter run

Some students at a junior middle school in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, collapsed on Wednesday after running a middle-distance race as part of the entrance examination for high school, sanqindaily.com said on Thursday.

This year, instead of using the traditional running on stairs to measure students' physical fitness, the municipal education department of Xi'an adopted middle-distance running as a part of the exam.

The reason it was changed is that students' tolerance can be better measured by a running race, according to an official from the department.

Boys ran a 1,000-meter race, and girls ran the 800-meter.

At a testing center in the city's Lianhu district, most of the students finished the test without problems. However, some students felt ill and collapsed after the run, and some were given oxygen therapy.

One teacher said lack of exercise is the major reason behind the poor health conditions of some students, who are burdened by schoolwork.