finalist

noun4

1. •
   Somebody or something that appears in the final of a competition.

   • If the disqualifications leave a vacancy for the full complement of finalists, swim-offs shall be continued among the disqualified swimmers until a full complement of finalists is assured. — 1973
2. •
   A university student taking their final examinations, or in the year of study when these are taken.
3. •
   An adherent of finalism; someone who believes that a given process or situation is in its final state, with no further change possible.
4. •
   Someone who believes that natural processes (especially evolution) are tending towards some specific final state; a teleologist.