Sources and update record
Sources: 3 named sources listed below; 3 with an access date.
Reported status: Rules / background — not a live result
Production: AI-assisted production recorded; no named human reviewer is implied.
Athletics results abbreviations describe a performance, a participation status or a qualification decision. They do not all mean the same kind of result. Read the event, round, column heading and result legend first: a Q in a heat result is different from a Q used as a qualification-round heading, and a PB on a start list is not a new personal best in that race.
DNS, DNF, DQ and NM: result status
| Code | Meaning | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| DNS | Did not start | Not a completed performance or an explanation of why the athlete withdrew |
| DNF | Did not finish; used for running, race walking and combined events | Not a finishing time or automatically a disqualification |
| DQ | Disqualified, followed by the applicable rule reference | The exact infringement must be read from the rule note |
| DSQ | Some publishers use this for disqualification | DQ is the code in the reviewed World Athletics standard; follow the publisher legend |
| NM | No valid trial recorded in a field event | Not a jump or throw of zero metres |
Do not infer an injury from DNS or DNF, a false start from every DQ, or three fouls from every NM. Those labels are outcomes, not full incident reports. A live table can also be provisional; the final official result and any subsequent correction are the authority.
Q versus q: qualification is event-specific
| Code | Track-event result | Field-event result |
|---|---|---|
| Q | Qualified by place | Qualified by achieving the standard |
| q | Qualified by time | Qualified by performance without achieving the standard |
| qR | Advanced to next round by Referee | Read the official decision and result note |
| qJ | Advanced to next round by Jury of Appeal | Read the official decision and result note |
| qD | Advanced to next round by draw | Not a winning performance or a medal code |
The upper- and lower-case letters matter. “q” is not an inferior personal best: it identifies the qualification route. Read the stated number of automatic qualifiers and remaining places for that round. Do not import one event’s progression scheme into a different competition. A championship can use a repechage round; its published conditions explain who may return.
PB, SB, WR, NR and WL: bests are not placings
| Code | Meaning | Context to retain |
|---|---|---|
| PB | Personal best for that athlete in the event | A start-list PB is the athlete’s existing best, not the displayed race result |
| SB | Season best for that athlete in the event | Check season/event scope; it need not be a lifetime PB |
| WR | World record | Check event eligibility and the official ratification/status note |
| NR | National record | Not necessarily the world’s best |
| OR | Olympic record | A competition record, not necessarily a WR |
| CR | Championship record beside a performance | CR in a rules citation can instead mean Competition Rule |
| WL | World-leading performance for the year | A yearly leading mark, not automatically a world record |
| =PB / =WR | Performance equals the stated best or record | The equals sign is meaningful; read the official record status |
A fast time or long distance does not let you invent a record label. Timing method, wind, equipment and the event’s official eligibility rules can matter. A mark printed “w” in the reviewed glossary is wind-assisted over +2 m/s; do not treat a wind-assisted sprint or horizontal-jump mark as eligible for a record merely because it is the longest or fastest on the page.
O, X, – and r: field-event attempts
| Symbol | Meaning in the reviewed standard | Use it in the right column |
|---|---|---|
| O | Valid trial in high jump or pole vault | Not a horizontal jump distance and not the number zero |
| X | Failed trial | An attempt outcome, not DNS |
| – | Passed trial | A pass is not a failed trial |
| r | Retired from field-event competition | Does not by itself explain the reason |
| P | Competing under protest | In the current rules this is not the standard symbol for a passed trial |
In a hypothetical high-jump row, XO at a height means one failed attempt followed by a clearance. A dash at the next height means a passed trial there, not another failure. A horizontal-jump row normally lists valid distances and X for failed trials; use its trial history and the applicable tie rules rather than applying vertical-jump symbols to every event. The long-jump result-sheet guide explains countback, wind and trial allocations.
How to read a track result row
Hypothetical qualifying result: Place 2, Athlete A, 1:41.73, Q, SB. Read the time as one minute and 41.73 seconds. If this is a track heat result, Q means qualified by place; SB labels a season best. It does not award a silver medal unless this is the final and the official final classification says so. If the row were a start list rather than results, the PB/SB columns would be previous bests.
Two athletes can show the same rounded hundredth yet receive different places after finish judging. Do not use the displayed time alone to override the official order. The photo-finish torso guide covers the finish plane and timing precision without pretending a normal broadcast still is an official photo-finish image.
How to read a field result and wind entry
Hypothetical horizontal-jump series: X, 6.20, –, 6.35, X, 6.30; best 6.35. The numbers are distances in metres, X is a failure and – a pass. A listed wind of +1.4 m/s is a following wind reading, not points added to the distance. The best-distance label does not reveal every tie-break or record-eligibility decision; read the complete official series and per-trial wind where supplied.
For combined events, event points and the cumulative total are separate columns. A DNF or omitted event can affect final classification under the combined-event rules. A partial sum is not a completed decathlon result. Use the combined-events scoring worked examples for coefficients, units and rounding; this glossary does not calculate a World Rankings score.
A short result-reading checklist
- Identify the event and round, and distinguish start list from results.
- Read the official place and performance before interpreting suffix letters.
- Match each letter to the publisher’s legend and the correct track/field context.
- Check timing method, wind and rule notes where they affect the conclusion.
- Keep provisional, protested or corrected results separate from final classifications.
Quick answers for commonly confused letters
Does PB mean first place? No: it is an athlete’s personal best. Is NM the same as DNF? No: NM records no valid field trial, while DNF describes not finishing in its applicable events. Does P mean pass? Not in the current World Athletics standard: – is a passed trial and P means competing under protest. Does q always mean qualified by time? Only for track events; in field events it describes performance qualification without the standard.
This article presents SportsHub4U editorial coverage. Where recorded, supporting sources and their access dates appear below. A publication-control check is not a human reviewer’s endorsement or a guarantee of factual accuracy. See the editorial standard for automation and correction procedures.