Read the following information carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Eight athletes P, Q, R, S, U, W, K and M participated in a running race, with each finishing in a unique position. W finished last. U finished immediately ahead of W and immediately behind Q. R finished ahead of K, but behind no other runner. M finished ahead of S but behind P, while K finished ahead of P.

Who finished in the second position?

The correct option is K.

Let's analyze the given information step-by-step to determine the exact finishing order of all eight athletes (1st to 8th position):

1. Total Athletes: There are 8 athletes in total: P, Q, R, S, U, W, K, and M.

2. Positions of W, U, and Q:
- "W finished last." Since there are 8 athletes, W finished in the 8th position.
- "U finished immediately ahead of W and immediately behind Q." This gives us a direct sequence Q → U → W at the end. Therefore, U finished 7th and Q finished 6th.

3. Position of R:
- "R finished ahead of K, but behind no other runner." Finishing behind no other runner means R finished in the 1st position.

4. Positions of the remaining athletes (K, P, M, S):
- "M finished ahead of S but behind P" means the order is P → M → S.
- "K finished ahead of P" means K comes before P, giving the order K → P → M → S.
- Since R is 1st, and Q, U, W occupy positions 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively, the remaining positions for K, P, M, S are 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th in exact order.

Combining all the information from 1st to 8th position:
1st: R
2nd: K
3rd: P
4th: M
5th: S
6th: Q
7th: U
8th: W

Therefore, K finished in the second position.