repechage

American  

[rep-uh-shahzh] / ˌrɛp əˈʃɑʒ /

noun

1. (in cycling and rowing) a last-chance qualifying heat in which the runners-up in earlier heats race each other, with the winner advancing to the finals.

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repechage British  

/ ˌrɛpɪˈʃɑːʒ /

noun

1. a heat of a competition, esp in rowing or fencing, in which eliminated contestants have another chance to qualify for the next round or the final

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Etymology

Origin of repechage

1925–30; < French repêchage second chance, equivalent to repêch ( er ) to fish up again ( re- re- + pêcher to fish; Middle French, Old French pescher < Vulgar Latin *piscāre, Latin piscārī, derivative of piscis fish ) + -age -age

Example Sentences

In the women's 400m repechage, Victoria Ohuruogu won her heat with a season's best 50.59 to qualify for the semi-finals.

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2024

Lina's twin sister Laviai qualified for the women's 400m semi-finals and Amber Anning won her heat, although Victoria Ohuruogu must go through to the repechage round.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2024

Less than an hour before, she had scored big in the final minute of a repechage to make it to the finals.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2024

Later in the competition, strong amateur surfers increasingly began knocking out top world surfers as they carved and slashed their way into the next round, forcing numerous professional athletes into a repechage.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2024

Each of the losing crews would have to race in a repechage, a re-rowing, on August 13 and would need to win that heat to advance to the medal race the following day.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown