Nigeria’s first-ever Olympic medalist Nojim Maiyegun is de@d

Nojim Maiyegun, Nigeria’s first-ever Olympic medalist and a former boxer, has passed away at the age of 83. The news of his death was confirmed by Rudolfine F. Soultan, a close confidante, in a heartfelt Facebook post on Monday. “My Jimmy died. I cant say more about this right now because its just horrible. The day after tomorrow, we would have been together for 17 years,” Soultan wrote, expressing her grief. According to reports from The Cable, Maiyegun breathed his last on Monday morning at his residence in Vienna, Austria, following a battle with an undisclosed illness that had plagued him for several months. Maiyegun made history at the age of 23 by winning Nigerias first Olympic medala bronzein the light-heavyweight boxing category at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His journey to the podium was marked by a stunning victory over Great Britains William Robinson, whom he defeated in just one minute and 59 seconds during the second round. He then advanced to the quarter-finals, where he triumphed over Denmarks Tom Bogs before losing to Frances Joseph Gonzalez in the semi-final, which resulted in Maiyegun and Polands Jzef Grzesiak both securing bronze medals. In 1966, Maiyegun further cemented his legacy by winning another bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica. After a successful amateur career, Maiyegun left Nigeria in 1971 to pursue professional boxing. During his professional career, he fought 16 times, winning 12 of those matches, with 10 victories coming by knockout.The post Nigerias first-ever Olympic medalist Nojim Maiyegun is de@d appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.