medal winner vs medalist

medal winner and medalist both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
medal winner	Yes	No	No	No
medalist	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, medal winner and medalist are synonyms defined as:

medal winner and medalist: (golf) the winner at medal play of a tournament

Other synonyms of medal winner include medallist.

medal winner (noun)	medalist (noun)
(golf) the winner at medal play of a tournament	(golf) the winner at medal play of a tournament
	someone who has won a medal