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
Merit Medal in Silver Decoration, the Southern Cross Medal (1975) and Pro Merito Medal (1975), and the Military Merit Medal. The decoration could be awarded to veteran cadres of Umkhonto we Sizwe who had distinguished themselves during the "struggle" by exceptionally meritorious service and particular devotion to duty. The position of the Merit Medal in Silver in the official military and national orders of precedence was revised upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged. The Merit Medal in Silver was struck in silver, to fit in a circle 38 millimetres in diameter. It depicts