Silver medal Silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives a gold medal and the third place a bronze medal. More generally, silver is traditionally a metal sometimes used for all types of high-quality medals, including artistic ones. In 1896, winners' medals were in fact silver. The custom of gold-silver-bronze for the first three places dates from the 1904 games and has been copied for
Silver Medal for Merit Pro Merito Medal (1975), and the Military Merit Medal. The decoration could be awarded to veteran cadres of the Azanian People's Liberation Army for exceptionally meritorious service and particular devotion to duty during the "struggle". The position of the Silver Medal for Merit in the official military and national orders of precedence was revised upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003. The Silver Medal for Merit was struck in silver, to fit in a circle 38 millimetres in diameter. It depicts the Azanian People's Liberation Army emblem in a dark blue enameled roundel, in