Nojim Maiyegun, a former Nigerian boxer, has died at 83.
He reportedly died on Monday in Vienna, Austria, where he was based.
His death comes just days after the 60th anniversary of his remarkable achievement at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he won a bronze medal in boxing.
Maiyegun, who became visually impaired a few years ago, was reportedly battling an unnamed illness for a couple of months.
He was the first Nigerian to win an Olympic medal.
Maiyegun was 23 when he won a bronze medal in the light-heavyweight boxing category at Tokyo 1964.
In the second round of the competition, he defeated Great Britain’s William Robinson in just one minute and 59 seconds — a remarkable feat in amateur boxing.
He defeated Tom Bogs of Denmark in the quarter-final before losing to France’s Joseph Gonzalez in the semi-final.
Maiyegun and Poland’s Józef Grzesiak settled for the bronze.
Two years later, in 1966, he won another bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica.
Maiyegun left Nigeria in 1971 to begin a professional boxing career.
He fought 16 times and won 12 — 10 of them by knockouts.
Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan Enoh, in a statement, expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Maiyegun.
Enoh in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Diana-Mary Nsan on Tuesday, offered his condolences to the Maiyegun family and the entire Nigerian sports community.
He also acknowledged the late boxer’s monumental contribution to Nigerian sports.
