Ágnes Keleti, a Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic medallist, has passed away at the age of 103 in Budapest, as reported by the Hungarian state news agency. Keleti had been critically ill with pneumonia since December 25. Throughout her illustrious career, she won ten Olympic medals in gymnastics, including five golds, at the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Games.
Born in 1921 in Budapest as Ágnes Klein, her life was deeply impacted by World War II. Persecuted for her Jewish heritage, she was forced to hide in the Hungarian countryside during the Holocaust, where she survived by adopting a false identity and working as a maid. While her mother and sister survived with assistance from diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, her father and other family members perished at Auschwitz.
Keleti resumed her gymnastics career post-war but faced missed opportunities, including an ankle injury before the 1948 Olympics. However, she triumphed at the 1952 Games, debuting at age 31, and became a standout performer in Melbourne in 1956. Following the Soviet invasion of Hungary, she sought asylum in Australia, later moving to Israel, where she coached the Olympic gymnastics team until the 1990s. Keleti’s resilience and achievements have made her an iconic figure in sports history.