Medal winners (6)
I believe the answer is:
heroes
'medal winners' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for heroes that I've seen before include "Men of courage, chief characters in plays" , "Principal characters in fiction" , "Men of distinguished bravery and strength" , "Record sung by 14 [BOWIE]" , "Cavaliers" .)