Nigeria’s first Olympic medalist, Nojim Maiyegun has passed away.
He was 83 years old.
The news of Maiyegun’s death was confirmed by a close confidante, Rudolfine Soultan, in a heartfelt Facebook post on Monday.
“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,” Soultan wrote, expressing her grief over the loss of the legendary boxer.
Maiyegun, who was residing in Vienna, Austria, reportedly took his last breath on Monday morning. According to reports, he had been battling an unnamed illness for several months and had become visually impaired a few years prior.
Nojim Maiyegun etched his name in Nigerian sports history when he won a bronze medal in the light-heavyweight boxing category at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics, becoming the first Nigerian to secure an Olympic medal.
At the age of 23, Maiyegun’s prowess in the ring was evident when he defeated Britain’s William Robinson in just one minute and 59 seconds during the second round of the competition.
He went on to beat 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 took home bronze medals.
His boxing career continued to shine two years later when he secured another bronze medal at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica.
In 1971, Maiyegun left Nigeria to embark on a professional boxing career.
Over his career, he fought 16 times, winning 12 bouts, 10 of them by knockout showcasing his formidable talent in the ring.
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