For other uses, see Champion (disambiguation).

A champion (identical to the French, from the late Latin campio) is one who has repeatedly come out first among contestants in challenges (especially the winner of a tournament or other competition) or other test, one who is outstandingly skilled in their field. Olympic Gold Medalists, for example, Lindsay Davenport or Jean Claude Killy, are champions in this sense. The term can be applied to animals too, in particular racehorses, eg, Secretariat or Phar Lap.

In sports, a champion is the athlete or team in first place at the end of a season of organized competition (and, if applicable, any associated playoffs). It is for this reason that such competitions are often called championships.

There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further (artificial) divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions can be accordingly styled, e.g. national champion, world champion. In certain disciplines, there are specific titles for champions, either descriptive, as the baspehlivan in Turkish oil wrestling, or copied from real life, such as the koning and keizer ('king' and 'emperor') in traditional archery competions (not just national, also at lower levels) in the Low Countries.

• In a broader sense, nearly any sort of competition can be considered a championship, and the victor of it a champion. Thus, there are championships for many non-sporting competitions: spelling bees, wargames, dog breeding, etc.

• It is also possible to champion a cause. The career of consumer's advocate Ralph Nader, who has made himself a champion for the causes of safety and environmental standards, is a good example of this. In an ideological sense, encompassing religion, a champion may be an evangelist, a visionary advocate who clears the field for the triumph of the idea. Or the champion may merely make a strong case for a new corporate division to a resistant board of directors. Such a champion may take on responsibility for publicizing the project and garnering funding. Such a champion is beyond a simple promoter.

The original meaning of the word partakes of both these senses: in the Feudal Era, knights were expected to be champions of both prowess in combat and of causes, the latter most commonly being either patriotic, romantic or religious in nature. This reaches its most literal in a trial by combat, in which each combatant champions the cause of one side of the trial.

Other uses in modern culture

• Champion is a title awarded by the American Kennel Club in recognition of a dog that closely matches its breed standard. The title is earned by competition in the show ring. Blue ribbon purebred dogs that have won such first-prize at A.K.C. dog shows are certified "Champions" and receive the honorific prefix "Ch." before their name, the canine equivalent of "Hon.".
• Champion has often been adopted as a brand-name, most famously for a brand of spark plugs, and the name is also that of a brand of jockstrap.

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