Nigeria’s first Olympic medallist, Nojim Maiyegun passed away on Monday at the age of 85 in Vienna, Austria, where he had been residing for years.
Maiyegun, who had been visually impaired for years, reportedly faced multiple hospital visits in the last six months. His death, confirmed by Nigerian acquaintance Stephen Ogboh in Austria, occurred just days after the 60th anniversary of his historic achievement.
On 10 August 1964, Maiyegun won a bronze medal in boxing at the Tokyo Olympics, sharing the podium with Poland’s Józef Grzesiak in the Light Middleweight category. His victory ended Nigeria’s 12-year Olympic medal drought, marking the first medal since the country began competing in the Games in Helsinki in 1952.
Born on 17 February 1941 in Lagos, Maiyegun made history as Nigeria’s first Olympic medallist. He largely remained out of the public eye until 2012, when news of his vision loss became public.
Nneoma Udensi
Follow us on:
