WR, DNF, PB: what do the most common abbreviations of the 2024 Olympics mean?

The Olympics are in full swing. There are so many competitions that many of them are going on at the same time and there is simply no time to watch them all. And when you do, you still need to understand the rules. And even when you have already watched the tournament, you can still see a lot of abbreviations. OBOZ.UA tells you about the most important letters of the Olympic Games, what they mean, and why this knowledge will be useful to the Ukrainian audience.

What do you need to know about records?

WR - world record. This is the most cherished mark that an athlete or team wants to see next to their result. It means that they have achieved the unimaginable and have updated a once unattainable figure at the Olympics. As of today, South Korea's Lim Si-hyun has already achieved this. In the individual archery competition, she scored 694 points, which is 2 points more than she has ever scored in any other competition in the world.

Accordingly, there is another type of such achievement - OR, Olympic record. These are Olympic records, which may not always be better than the world record, but set a new bar for the international sports forum.

Already on July 27, Australia won the coveted OR: the women's team triumphed in swimming, in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay - 3:28.92. The swimmers, by the way, broke their country's previous record from the Tokyo competition. In this race, they beat the American and Chinese contenders for gold. Interestingly, the United States and China finished the relay in the pool with records for their own continents, but this is not written in the Olympics.

What about athletes?

Athletes have several marks and they can be divided into two categories: organizational and competitive. In addition to the aforementioned WR and OR, there are two more possible. PB - personal best, personal best result, SB - season best, season best result. They can be awarded for any result, even if an athlete (or a whole team) does not break the world or Olympic record, but this result at the time of the Olympic Games will be the best result of this year in all tournaments. Or if a person breaks their own personal record.

Other abbreviations are more organizational. DNF - did not finish; means that the athlete entered the race but did not reach the finish line for various reasons. This mark could have been given to Taylor Nibb, who fell three times during the July 27 cycling race due to rain and slippery asphalt. The American even had to change her bike, but she made it to the finish line, although she lost her place in the top ten.

DQ - disqualified. Everything is clear even without translation: this is the case when an athlete is disqualified. Most often, this happens because of a false start (this is especially tough in swimming). So far, no one has received such a punishment. But for another reason, Iraqi judoka Sajad Ghanim Sehen may be eliminated from the Games - he tested positive for doping. The International Doping Testing Agency tested him a week before the competition, and the results showed traces of anabolic steroids, which were added to the list of banned substances. The Iraqi was suspended from the competition, but it seems that because of his positive drug test, he will be the first to receive a "DQ" next to his name. There is also a DNS mark - did not start. This means that the athlete did not show up for the competition at all. This was the case with the Turkish representative in athletics:

AIN is about the Russians. It stands for Individual Neutral Athlete, i.e., those neutral individual athletes. Previously, Russians hid behind their own Olympic Committee, but now, along with Belarusians, several dozen athletes have their own AIN flag.

Athletics: a guide for Ukrainians

Athletics itself is fascinating as a separate sport with spectacle and outstanding physical fitness, and this year it is also an important sport for Ukraine. We expect not only a new Olympic record, but also medals. So here are some letters for you to understand:

Q - qualified. The basic and most important letter for athletes; it means that they have qualified for the next round. There is an additional option, a small letter - q. It is written when an athlete has qualified based on the results of his performance, but must wait for all the results so that he is not definitely moved;

X is used to indicate a foul or a miss in jumping;

O - in vertical sports, such as pole vault or high jump, indicates that the current bar has been passed and you can move on. For example, raising the same bar a few centimeters higher;

r - a small English letter indicates "retire", i.e. the athletes were forced to withdraw from the course.

In athletics, in the discipline of high jumping, we pay special attention to Yaroslava Maguchikh, who this year set a new world record for women in high jumping - 2 meters 10 centimeters. She already has a WR label, so it's time to add an OR label. Moreover, the Olympic record is 4 centimeters lower than her current achievement and is held by Russian Slisarenko, which is an additional motivation to show her best at the competition.