A girl distributes medals (6)
I believe the answer is:
damsel
'a girl' is the definition.
(damsel is a kind of girl)
'distributes medals' is the wordplay.
'distributes' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'distributed' mean this).
'medals' anagrammed gives 'DAMSEL'.
(Other definitions for damsel that I've seen before include "Maiden (poetic)" , "Young woman (archaic)" , "Young woman (often in distress)" , "Girl (literary)" , "Young single woman" .)