Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the second-place finisher being designated "first runner-up," the third-place finisher "second runner-up," and so on.
While loosely acceptable for describing any second-place finisher in a sporting event, the "runner-up" label is more properly appended to one that finishes in that position as the result of having lost in the final round of an elimination tournament; specifically, its most frequent use is encountered in
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
, and refers to the player (or doubles team) that loses the final match; in most tennis tournaments, a testimonial award, often in the form of a plate, is given to the runner(s)-up following the final match, with the winner(s) receiving a
trophyThe trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and usually afterwards serves as proof of merit. They are most often awarded with sporting events. These range from youth sports through professional level athletics...
instead.
In
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
team sports, the term is usually avoided in official circles, because the team losing in the final round of the postseason playoffs will have had to have won the championship of a lesser entity as a condition for reaching the finals; in
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
, American
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
and Ice
hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
this would have been a conference championship, and in
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
a league championship, or colloquially, the league "
pennantA pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
." Consequently, the losing finalist will typically be referred to as the champion of its conference (or league in the case of baseball) rather than as a runner-up.
Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the second-place finisher being designated "first runner-up," the third-place finisher "second runner-up," and so on.
While loosely acceptable for describing any second-place finisher in a sporting event, the "runner-up" label is more properly appended to one that finishes in that position as the result of having lost in the final round of an elimination tournament; specifically, its most frequent use is encountered in
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
, and refers to the player (or doubles team) that loses the final match; in most tennis tournaments, a testimonial award, often in the form of a plate, is given to the runner(s)-up following the final match, with the winner(s) receiving a
trophyThe trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and usually afterwards serves as proof of merit. They are most often awarded with sporting events. These range from youth sports through professional level athletics...
instead.
In
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
team sports, the term is usually avoided in official circles, because the team losing in the final round of the postseason playoffs will have had to have won the championship of a lesser entity as a condition for reaching the finals; in
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
, American
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
and Ice
hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
this would have been a conference championship, and in
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
a league championship, or colloquially, the league "
pennantA pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
." Consequently, the losing finalist will typically be referred to as the champion of its conference (or league in the case of baseball) rather than as a runner-up. Although the team that won the finals will also be a conference (or league in baseball) champion by necessity, it is usually not referred to as such because the title of "finals champion" carries more prestige.
In the
Olympic GamesThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
, runners-up receive silver medals, and in competitions held at county and state fairs in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a red ribbon traditionally identifies the runner-up (with a
blue ribbonIn symbolism, blue ribbon is a term used to describe something of high quality. The usage came from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners—and prior to that from Cordon Bleu which referred to the blue ribbon worn by a particular order of...
signifying the winner, and
whiteThe white ribbon, a white-colored ribbon or representation of a white-colored ribbon, has several different meanings depending on the context. As with other color ribbons, is sometimes used by political movements to signify or spread their beliefs...
,
yellowA yellow ribbon is a symbol with various meanings, mostly associated with those waiting for the return of a loved one or of military troops who are temporarily unable to come home. In the Philippines in the 1980s, it became a symbol for the opposition leaders Ninoy and Cory Aquino and the 1986...
,
greenThe green ribbon has been used as a symbol for many campaigns, including environmental justice, cannabis-liberation, and agriculture.- Environmental awareness uses :...
,
orangeThe orange ribbon is a symbol adopted for a very wide variety of uses in different places.*Marathon winner Marija Vrajic and 1060 other participants of the Night Marathon in Jesolo & Cavallino Treporti on the 7th of June 2008, wore an orange ribbon for Human Rights in Tibet.On 18 May 2008 at the...
,
purpleA purple ribbon is worn to raise awareness for various causes, including:
-Xenophobia and Homophobia
-Overdose Prevention
-Domestic violence
-Alzheimer's disease
-Crohn's Disease
-Cystic Fibrosis
...
, and
brownA brown ribbon is a type of award given to winners of various contests. At county and state fairs in the United States, a brown ribbon is the award for placing eighth in a contest...
being the colors associated with third through eighth places, in that order).
In
politicsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
, runners-up only applies to single member electorates or parties using a first past the post voting systems, such as Great Britain, the United States of America, or Canada. It does not apply to multi-member proportional representation electorates such as exists in Ireland, Ukraine and many European countries.