In a tragic turn of events, two prominent figures from the world of sports passed away yesterday. Nojim Maiyegun, Nigeria’s first medallist at the 1964 Olympic Games, and former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, both died in different locations in Europe.
According to multiple sources, 85-year-old Maiyegun died of natural causes in Vienna, Austria, where he had been living for many years. Despite being visually impaired for years, he bravely fought his health battles and had been in and out of the hospital over the past six months. Sadly, he finally succumbed to his illness.
Maiyegun’s death comes just a few days after the 60th anniversary of his remarkable achievement at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, where he won a bronze medal in boxing on August 10. Meanwhile, 76-year-old Sven-Goran Eriksson, who had been battling cancer for some time, passed away yesterday.
Eriksson, the first non-British manager of the England national team, led the Three Lions to the quarter-finals in three major tournaments during his successful five-year tenure from 2001 to 2006.
In January, Eriksson had revealed that he had approximately one year to live after being diagnosed with cancer. His children, Lina and Johan, released a statement yesterday saying, “Our father, Sven-Goran Eriksson, peacefully passed away in his home at Bjorkefors outside Sunne this morning. He bravely fought his illness for a long time, but sadly, it came to an end. At the beginning of this year, Dad shared his serious illness with us and received overwhelming support from friends and football fans across Europe.