As the Paris Olympics continue on, fans at home will notice how in some sports, like swimming and track, there's graphics that show up stating OR and WR.
In swimming and track, for instance, the Olympic athletes can be seen chasing the OR and WR lines at times. Team USA's Katie Ledecky is someone who is often seen inching near an OR or WR line.
So, what do these abbreviations mean exactly, and why do they pop up during the Olympics? Here's what you need to know.
What does OR Mean on the Olympic Broadcast?
OR stands for Olympic Record. This represents times that were completed only at the Olympic Games, not from any other international competitions.
For example, Ledecky set a new Olympic record while competing in the 1500-meter freestyle final on Wednesday, July 31. As she was swimming in the competition, a line was drawn over the pool showing what the previous Olympic record was. This allowed fans at home to see how close Ledecky was to breaking the record, which she did with a time of 15:30.02.
So far, an Olympic record has been broken every day of the 2024 Paris Games. They are much more common to see during the Olympics.
What does WR Mean on the Olympic Broadcast?
WR stands for World Record. These times could be completed at any international event outside of the Olympics, like the World Championships.
Sometimes an Olympic record is not as speedy as a world record. But, in other cases, an Olympic record and a world record could be the same time if the world record is broken at the Olympics. It's truly on a case-by-case basis.
So far, only one world record has been broken at the Paris Games. Pan Zhanle of China broke the world record in the 100-meter freestyle by swimming it in 46.40 seconds. He broke his own world record by doing so.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as What Do OR and WR Mean on the Olympic Broadcast?.
