From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe placed first/second etcbe placed first/second etcto be first, second etc in a race or competitionRegisterPlace is slightly formal in most of its meanings. In everyday English, people usually use put instead:She put the cup on the table.Innocent people were put at risk.They put an ad in the paper. → place
Examples from the Corpus
be placed first/second etc• But it is unwise to assume that parents will inevitably pose a problem when they are placed first.• Inside the bracket the symbol of the central atom is placed first.• Fiona Burgess was placed second with Jenny Dwyer improving on past form to gain third position. 