A personal record or personal best (abbreviated to PR or PB) is an individual's best performance in a given sporting discipline. It is most commonly found in athletic sports, such as track and field, other forms of running, swimming and weightlifting. The term "PR" came from the world of running, referring to a person's best time in a race of a specific distance. So, if someone runs their first

5K race The 5K run is a long-distance running, long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distingu ...

in 28:45, that's their PR for the 5-kilometre distance. If they run faster than 28:45 in a subsequent 5K race, then they have a new PR for that distance. Over time, PR came to mean any new record in a sport that could be performed by a single person. Although the term "personal best" is increasingly used in official sports statistics, it can also refer to an unofficial best individual performance, according to some sources.

References

Sports terminology Sports records and statistics Superlatives in sports {{Sport-stub