TOKYO, Japan — For several Olympic sports, handing out gold, silver and bronze medals isn't as easy as 1-2-3.
Events including rowing, judo, taekwondo and wrestling award bronze medals with a process called "repechage." Meaning "second chance" in French, repechage gives athletes renewed hope at earning a medal, even after a loss.
So, how does it work?
Each sport does it a little differently. But it some sports like taekwondo, wrestling and judo, it means having to take part in at least one extra bout. It also, ultimately, results in two bronze medals being awarded.
Taekwondo and wrestling
In taekwondo and wrestling, the athletes who lost to the eventual finalists starting with the Round of 16, are placed in their own brackets. Then, the losers from the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals face off.
The winners of those matchups end up facing the losers of the semifinals.
The winners of those matches are both awarded bronze medals.
Judo
In judo, the four competitors who lose in the quarterfinal rounds are paired against each other in two separate bronze medal brackets. The winners from those bouts advance to face the losers of the semifinal bouts.
The winners of those two bouts each earn a bronze medal.
Rowing
The rowing competition takes a little bit of a longer path through the repechage rounds. After qualifying heats, the top boats move to the semifinals or final round, depending on the number of boats entered. The rest are moved to repechage heats.
The fastest boats in the repechage round move on to the "A/B" quarterfinals, with the others moved to the lower-ranked "E/F" bracket, with no hope at a medal. The fastest boats in the A/B quarterfinal move to the A/B semifinal, with the others entered in a C/D semifinal.
Finally, the top boats in the A/B semifinals are placed in the "A" final, where they compete for gold, silver and just one bronze medal.
Other repechage sports
Track cycling in Tokyo also has a repechage round for some events.
In baseball and softball, the repechage rounds take the form of a double-elimination tournament with a "losers bracket" that Little League parents would be familiar with.
Unlike the repechages in the combat sports, where the second chance is an opportunity to win a bronze medal, a team that lost early in the knockout stage in baseball or softball still has a chance at winning gold.
