Nigeria’s maiden Olympic medalist Nojim Maiyegun passes on
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The first Nigerian athlete to win a medal at the Olympic Games, Nojim Maiyegun is no more.
According to multiple sources, Maiyegun died at age 85 of natural sources in Vienna, Austria, his base for years.
He has been virtually impaired since 2012 and has been in and out of hospital months before his death on Monday, August 26, 2024.
His death came 60 years after he won a bronze medal in boxing at Tokyo 1964 Olympics.
Born in Lagos on February 17, 1941, Maiyegun won Nigeria’s first medal when be scooped bronze medal in the men’s lightweight (71kg) category at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in Japan.
He shared the bronze medal with Józef Grzesiak of Poland in the Light middleweight category. At the Olympics, the two losers in the semifinals are traditionally awarded the bronze medal, as there is no third-place bout.
It was the first time since Helsinki 1952 when Nigeria started participating in the Games that he won a medal.
