Gunned down last of pipers piping (4)
I believe the answer is:
shot
'gunned down' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to competing as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'last of pipers piping' is the wordplay.
'last of' suggests the final letters.
'piping' becomes 'hot' (I've seen this in other clues).
The last letter of 'pipers' is 's'.
's'+'hot'='SHOT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for shot that I've seen before include "Fired - pellet" , "Wounded" , "Darted" , "glass of spirits" , "Fired; (be) rid (of)" .)