By Hope James
The first Nigerian Medalist of the Olympic games, Nojim Maiyegun has passed away at the age of 85 on Monday, Edum News reports.
It was gathered that Maiyegun died of natural causes in Vienna, Austria where he has been living for years.
Maiyegun’s death came just few days after the 60th anniversary of his feat when he won a bronze medal in boxing on 10 August 1964 at the Olympics in Tokyo.
He was virtually impaired for years, and has reportedly been in and out of hospital in the past six months before his death which was also confirmed by another Nigerian, Stephen Ogboh who is an acquaintance of Pa Nojim in Austria.
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 which ended Nigeria’s 12-year winless streak at the Olympics.
