They didn’t win the “Fastest Climbers Competition” (7-2)
I believe the answer is:
runners-up
'they' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'didn't win the fastest climbers competition' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'competition' could be 'run' (run is a kind of competition) and 'run' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for runners-up that I've seen before include "Those behind the winner" , "Silver medallists" , "Near winners" , "They get silver" , "Those finishing second" .)