also-ran

日本の選手が大活躍したリオのオリンピックも終わりました。オリンピックの選手村ではこんな場面があったのでしょうね。
Reader's Digest 7月号の記事 Feeding the Olympicsからの抜粋です。
Whatever the differences in achievement and ability, this communal eating space is a great levelling, with golden girls and also-rans standing side by side in the line for food, or sharing spaces at the same tables.

・Collins Dictionary: a contestant, horse, etc, failing to finish among the first three in a race: Molly, the also-ran, the child who was born to disappoint, had none of these things.
・Wiktionary: A person or animal who competed in a race but did not win.:The transition from comer to also-ran can be quick.