Mediterranean elite embracing liberal prize winner (9)
I believe the answer is:
medallist
'prize winner' is the definition.
(someone awarded a medal)
'mediterranean elite embracing liberal' is the wordplay.
'mediterranean' becomes 'med' (short for Mediterranean Sea).
'elite' becomes 'A-list'.
'embracing' indicates putting letters inside.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'alist' going around 'l' is 'allist'.
'med'+'allist'='MEDALLIST'
(Other definitions for medallist that I've seen before include "Successful sportsperson" , "Olympic winner" , "Prizewinner" , "Award winner" .)