At the age of 85, Nojim Maiyegun, the first Nigerian to medal in the Olympics, passed away on Monday.
He died in Vienna, Austria, where he had lived for a number of years after moving from Nigeria. The former boxer created history when he won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
After being in and out of the hospital for the previous six months, Maiyegun’s death from natural causes was verified by numerous sources.
Before his death, Maiyegun’s condition apparently deteriorated. He was known to have been vision impaired for a number of years.
The news of his death was verified by Stephen Ogboh, a Nigerian acquaintance living in Austria, who confirmed the sad development to Sports Village Square.
Maiyegun’s demise comes just days after the 60th anniversary of his historic feat of August 10, 1964, when he won Nigeria’s first-ever Olympic medal.
Competing in the light middleweight category, Maiyegun shared the bronze medal with Poland’s Józef Grzesiak after both boxers lost in the semifinals. At the Olympics, both semifinal losers are traditionally awarded bronze, as there is no third-place bout.
His achievement in Tokyo ended Nigeria’s 12-year medal drought at the Olympics, following the country’s first appearance at the Helsinki 1952 Games.
Maiyegun’s breakthrough performance paved the way for subsequent Nigerian successes on the global stage, as the country went on to win three silver medals and two more bronze medals in subsequent editions of the Games.
The death of the pioneering athlete is a significant loss to the Nigerian sports fraternity, as his legacy remains an enduring source of pride to the nation.
