Nigeria’s first Olympics medallist, Maiyegun dies at 85
Nojim Maiyegun, the first Nigerian to win an Olympics medal when he got a light middleweight boxing bronze at the Japan 1964 Games, is dead.
According to sportsvillage square.com, Maiyegun, aged 85, died of natural causes in Vienna, Austria, where he has been living for years.
Known to be virtually impaired for years, he was reportedly in and out of hospital in the past six months before his death, which was also confirmed by another Nigerian, Stephen Ogboh, an acquaintance of Pa Nojim in Austria.
Maiyegun’s death came just a few days after the 60th anniversary of his feat when he won a bronze medal in boxing on August 10, 1964 at the Olympics in Tokyo.
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 that Nigeria won a medal.He thus ended Nigeria’s 12-year win-less streak at the Olympics.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Why are you flagging this comment?
I disagree with this user
Targeted harassment - posted harassing comments or discussions targeting me, or encouraged others to do so
Spam - posted spam comments or discussions
Inappropriate profile - profile contains inappropriate images or text
Threatening content - posted directly threatening content
Private information - posted someone else's personally identifiable information
Before flagging, please keep in mind that Disqus does not moderate communities. Your username will be shown to the moderator, so you should only flag this comment for one of the reasons listed above.
We will review and take appropriate action.
Get the latest news delivered straight to your