BUDAPEST, Hungary — Ágnes Keleti, a Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic medal winner, has died. She was 103.
Keleti died Thursday morning in Budapest, the Hungarian state news agency reported. She was hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia on Dec. 25.
She won a total of 10 Olympic medals in gymnastics, including five golds, for Hungary at the 1952 Helsinki Games and the 1956 Melbourne Games. She overcame the loss of her father and several relatives in the Holocaust to become one of the most successful Jewish Olympic athletes.
“These 100 years felt to me like 60,” Keleti told The Associated Press on the eve of her 100th birthday. “I live well. And I love life. It’s great that I’m still healthy.”
Born Ágnes Klein in 1921 in Budapest, her career was interrupted by World War II and the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics. Forced off her gymnastics team in 1941 because of her Jewish ancestry, Keleti went into hiding in the Hungarian countryside, where she survived the Holocaust by assuming a false identity and working as a maid.
Her mother and sister survived the war with the help of famed Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, but her father and other relatives perished at Auschwitz, among the more than half a million Hungarian Jews killed in Nazi death camps and by Hungarian Nazi collaborators.
Resuming her career after the war, Keleti was set to compete at the 1948 London Olympics, but a last-minute ankle injury dashed her hopes.
Four years later, she made her Olympic debut at the 1952 Helsinki Games at the age of 31, winning a gold medal in the floor exercise as well as a silver and two bronzes. In 1956, she became the most successful athlete at the Melbourne Olympics, winning four gold and two silver medals.
While she was becoming the oldest gold medalist in gymnastics history at age 35 in Melbourne, the Soviet Union invaded Hungary following an unsuccessful anti-Soviet uprising. Keleti remained in Australia and sought political asylum. She then immigrated to Israel the following year and worked as a trainer and coached the Israeli Olympic gymnastics team until the 1990s.
Ágnes Keleti, Holocaust survivor, oldest living Olympic medal winner, dies at age 103
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ágnes Keleti, a Hungarian Olympic gymnast and Holocaust survivor, who passed away at the age of 103. Keleti’s life was a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and her story serves as a reminder of the atrocities of the Holocaust and the power of hope and perseverance.
Born in Budapest in 1921, Keleti was a promising gymnast from a young age. However, her dreams were put on hold during World War II when she was forced to go into hiding to escape the Nazis. Despite the horrors she faced during the Holocaust, Keleti survived and went on to become one of the most successful gymnasts of her time.
Keleti participated in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where she won four gold medals and two silver medals, making her the most successful athlete at the games. She went on to compete in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where she won three gold medals and a silver medal, solidifying her status as a gymnastics legend.
After retiring from competitive gymnastics, Keleti went on to coach and inspire countless athletes. She was a true pioneer in the sport and her legacy will live on for generations to come.
Ágnes Keleti’s life is a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and hope. She will be deeply missed but her spirit will continue to inspire us all. Rest in peace, Ágnes Keleti.
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Ágnes Keleti, Holocaust survivor, oldest living Olympic medal winner, dies, age 103, gymnast, Hungarian athlete, Olympic history, survivor stories, inspirational women, gymnastics legend, Olympic champion, Holocaust remembrance, Hungarian hero, women in sports
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