Nojim Maiyegun, an esteemed former boxer from Nigeria and the inaugural Olympic medalist for the nation, has unfortunately passed away.
Maiyegun succumbed to his fate on Monday at his residence in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 83, as disclosed by a source affiliated with the family.
“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 reads.
A long-time close associate of the illustrious boxer, Rudolfine F Soultan, corroborated his demise through a post on Facebook on Monday.
Maiyegun, who experienced visual impairment in recent years, was reportedly contending with an undisclosed illness for several months.
He holds the distinction of being the first Nigerian athlete to secure an Olympic gold medal.
At the age of 23, Maiyegun achieved a bronze medal in the light-heavyweight boxing division during the Tokyo 1964 Olympics.
In the second round of the event, he triumphed over Great Britain’s William Robinson in a mere one minute and 59 seconds—a noteworthy accomplishment in the realm of amateur boxing.
He overcame Tom Bogs of Denmark in the quarter-finals before ultimately being defeated by Joseph Gonzalez of France in the semi-finals.
Maiyegun and Poland’s Józef Grzesiak both earned bronze medals in that competition.
Two years subsequently, in 1966, he secured another bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica.
In 1971, Maiyegun departed from Nigeria to embark on a professional boxing career.
Throughout his professional journey, he participated in 16 bouts and attained victory in 12 of them—10 of which were by knockout.