A gold medal generally represents the highest award for achievement in a non-military field, with no restriction on eligibility. The concept comes from the military, initially with a simple recognition of military rank, and later decorations for admission to military orders dating back to medieval times. Since at least the 18th century, gold medals have been awarded in the arts (for example by the Royal Danish Academy), usually as a symbol of a financial award to give an outstanding student some freedom. Others offer only the prestige of the award. Many organizations now award gold medals either annually or extraordinarily, including UNESCO and various academic societies.

Gold Medal is an album by American band The Donnas, released in 2004 (see 2004 in music). It was one of the first albums released in the DualDisc format, but was recalled due to a mastering error which resulted in the final track being partially omitted from the CD side of the album. The DualDisc version of the album came with a black velvet limited edition cover slip and the music video for "Fall Behind Me" on the DVD side.

Their single, "Fall Behind Me", was featured as the background song for the new 2006 Nissan Xterra and 2006 U.S. Women's Olympic Snowboarding Team TV commercials.