Nojim Maiyegun: Nigeria’s first Olympic medalist who died an unsung hero

The story of Nojim Maiyegun mirrors the struggles of many Nigerian sports legends who gave their best years to the nation but were forgotten in their later years. Maiyegun was the first Nigerian to win a medal at an Olympics, achieving that historic feat at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Before then, Nigeria had won multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games and prestigious games in Africa. But an Olympic medal seemed to elude the athletes since the nation’s Olympic debut in 1952.

So, it would be correct to say that Maiyegun was a trailblazer, paving the way for other Nigerian Olympic medalists. Sadly, the legendary Olympian died an unsung hero in Vienna, Austria.

In honour of his remarkable achievements, this is a biography of Maiyegun, highlighting his meteoric rise in the boxing world.

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Nojim Maiyegun biography

Maiyegun was born on February 21, 1941, in Glover Street, situated in the Lagos Island area of Lagos State.

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Nojim Maiyegun career

Maiyegun started his boxing career at the early age of 16 to defend himself against a bully. Speaking in a 2012 interview with Punch, he recounted how he took his first steps in the sport.

He said: “I was 16 when I first knew about boxing. It started when I went to fetch water at Bamgbose in Lagos. There was a boy at that time who bullied everyone whenever he got to the public tap; he beat me a lot then.”

“When I later learnt he was a trained boxer, I sought out Bonny Ade, who secretly trained me for six months until I was able to face the boy and beat him at the public tap.”

From there, Maiyegun became a household name within his neighbourhood and beyond. He earned the nickname “Omo Oloja” due to his powerful left arm, which he fully harnessed against his opponents.

However, his breakthrough did not come until the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo where he shared the bronze medal with Poland’s Józef Grzesia in the light-middleweight boxing category. He had defeated Great Britain’s William Robinson in just one minute and 59 seconds — a remarkable feat in amateur boxing – and Tom Bogs of Denmark in the quarter-final before losing to France’s Joseph Gonzalez in the semi-final.

“I was too excited to realise I was the first Nigerian to win an Olympic medal; all I was thinking was that I had a chance to fulfil my dream of being the world’s best,” Maiyegun said.

Unfortunately, the Nigerian government did not recognise his achievement until 1989, when he was awarded a plaque which was later taken from him “for no reason”.

“I don’t recall getting anything special as a reward when I won the medal at the Olympics, but former Head of State Ibrahim Babangida gave me an award in 1989,” Maiyegun said.

“The award was eventually retrieved by the sports ministry the following year for no reason at all. I was thinking the award would belong to me forever, but they took it back.”

Maiyegun made another feat by winning a bronze medal at the 1966 Commonwealth Games. He won other African titles and national belts.

However, all his medals were stolen when he was in Nigeria. He reported to the Sports Ministry to request for replacement but nothing could be done. Maiyegun insisted that he was an Olympic trailblazer and “no one can take that away from me”.

Maiyegun left Nigeria and settled in Vienna, Austria, in 1971 to start a professional boxing career. He soon began to make waves as Austrian newspapers’ cartoons depicted his gloved hands as guns to demonstrate how lethal his punches were.

However, Maiyegun’s promising career suffered a setback when he gradually began to lose his vision in 1973. Doctors predicted constant punches to the head as the cause. But his impending blindness did not deter him from fighting in a World Championship bout against Domenico Tiberia in December 1973. He lost the fight on points and that was how his boxing career ended prematurely.

“I lost the fight by decision, but it is on record that I am the first blind boxer to fight for a title. I could see with one eye then,” he said.

In 2012, it was reported that Maiyegun was fully blind and had been living in Austria for over 40 years without any help from the Nigerian government. After his premature retirement, he worked in street cleaning and janitorial services to survive but his blindness made his job difficult.

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