The oldest Olympic gold medallist in the world, Agnes Keleti, has died at age 103. Keleti, a Hungarian gymnast who survived the Holocaust, did not compete in the Olympics until she was 31 but went on to win a remarkable 10 medals.
Keleti died in hospital after being admitted with pneumonia on Christmas day. Commenting on her passing, the International Olympic Committee wrote: “Agnes Keleti is the greatest gymnast produced by Hungary, but one whose life and career were intertwined with the politics of her country and her religion.”
Agnes Keleti, Holocaust survivor and oldest female gymnast to win Olympic Gold, dies age 103
Born as Agnes Klein in Budapest on January 9, 1921, Keleti started practicing gymnastics when she was a child. She joined the National Gymnastics Association in 1938 and won her first championship in 1940. Her talent was quickly recognized, and she was seen as a serious contender for the 1940 Tokyo Games.
However, that year she was banned from participating in all other sports activities because of her Jewish background. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Games were cancelled due to WWII.
A survivor of the persecution of the Jews during WWII, Keleti was forcibly expelled from Budapest by the Nazis in 1941. However, she escaped deportation to Nazi death camps – where hundreds of thousands of other Hungarian Jews were killed – by hiding in a village south of Budapest using false identity papers.
Her father, Ferenc Klein, and several other relatives died in the Auschwitz death camp. Her mother Rosza and her sister Vera survived the war in the Hungarian countryside.
Keleti overcomes incredible odds to win multiple Olympic golds
With the 1944 Olympics also cancelled due to the ongoing war, Keleti hoped to finally participate in the 1948 games in London. However, despite qualifying for the event, she was unable to participate due to a torn ankle ligament.
Despite the incredible setbacks that she encountered, Keleti remained determined to participate in the Olympics, and competed in her first games in Helsinki in 1952. Despite being 31 – well past retirement age for most gymnasts – she managed to win gold in the floor exercise, silver in a team competition, and two further bronze medals.
At age 35, Keleti went on to compete at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. She won Olympic gold in the beam, floor exercise, uneven bars, and the team’s portable apparatus. These victories made her the most successful athlete at the Melbourne Games and the oldest female gymnast to win Olympic gold.
A year later, Keleti settled in Israel, where she married and had two children.
Keleti’s 10 Olympic medals, including five golds, make Keleti the second most successful Hungarian athlete of all time and one of the most successful Jewish Olympians ever.