Nigeria’s First Olympic Medalist, Nojim Maiyegun Is Dead

Former Nigerian boxer and first-ever Olympic medalist, Nojim Maiyegun, has passed away at the age of 83.

The news of his death was confirmed by a close friend, Rudolfine F. Soultan, who shared the sad news on Facebook on Monday.

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“My Jimmy died. I can’t say more about this right now because it’s just horrible. The day after tomorrow, we would have been together for 17 years,” the post read.

According to reports from The Cable, Maiyegun passed away on Monday morning at his residence in Vienna, Austria, after battling an undisclosed illness for several months.

Maiyegun made history at the age of 23 by winning Nigeria’s first Olympic medal—a bronze—in the light-heavyweight boxing category at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics. In the second round of the competition, he defeated Great Britain’s William Robinson in just one minute and 59 seconds. He then overcame Denmark’s Tom Bogs in the quarter-finals before losing to France’s Joseph Gonzalez in the semi-finals. Maiyegun and Poland’s Józef Grzesiak both settled for bronze.

Two years later, in 1966, he earned another bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica.

In 1971, Maiyegun moved to Europe to begin his professional boxing career. He fought 16 times, securing 12 victories, 10 of which were by knockout.

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