Second-placed competitors (7-2)
I believe the answer is:
runners-up
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">second-placed competitors</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for runners-up that I've seen before include "Those finishing second" , "Second-placed competitors" , "Near winners" , "Those in second place" , "Those placed second" .)