Hero worthy of a medal (4)

I believe the answer is:

lion

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

This might be a double definition.

'hero' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)

'worthy of a medal' is the second definition.
'lion' can be an answer for 'worthy' (thesaurus). I'm not sure about the 'of a medal' bit.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lion that I've seen before include "Carnivorous 6" , "King of the jungle" , "Simba, for example" , "Cowardly visitor in Oz" , "Big cat with pride" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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