SwedenLivingWorld world_2_fill WorldBusiness BusinessSports sports-soccer SportsEntertainmentEntertain

Olympic Icon and Holocaust Survivor Dead

The Hungarian gymnastics legend Ágnes Keleti is dead. At 103 years old, she was the world's oldest Olympic Games medalist.

» Published: January 02 2025

Olympic Icon and Holocaust Survivor Dead
Photo: Oded Balilty/AP/TT

Ágnes Keleti belongs to an exclusive group of five female gymnasts who have collected four gold medals in the same Olympic Games. At the Melbourne 1956 Summer Games, she took three individual gold medals (beam, vault, floor exercise) and one with Hungary in the team competition.

The others on the list are Simone Biles, Larisa Latynina, Vera Cáslavská, and Ecaterina Szabó.

Help from Raoul Wallenberg

Keleti died on Thursday morning in Hungary's capital Budapest, where she had been treated for pneumonia since Christmas Day, according to AP.

She was born in Budapest in 1921 and took a total of 10 Olympic medals, including 5 gold. Particularly impressive considering that two Olympic Summer Games, 1940 and 1944, were cancelled due to World War II.

Keleti's Jewish roots meant that she was forced to leave her gymnastics team in 1941. She fled to the Hungarian countryside, where she hid and, with the help of, among other things, false identity documents, managed to survive the Holocaust.

Thanks to the help of the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, Keleti's mother and sister also survived. Her father and other relatives were, at the same time, taken to Auschwitz, where they, along with more than half a million other Hungarian Jews, fell victim to the Nazi extermination camp.

After the war, Ágnes Keleti resumed her career but was forced to decline the Olympic Games in London 1948 due to injury. The first Olympic gold medal came instead in Helsinki 1952 (floor exercise) before it was time for the career highlight four years later.

At the age of 35, she became the oldest Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics history in Melbourne 1956.

Sought political asylum

In connection with the Games, a popular uprising was crushed in her home country, when the Soviet Union crushed the Hungarian Revolution.

Ágnes Keleti therefore stayed in Australia and sought political asylum. The following year, she moved to Israel, where she eventually began working as a coach. She coached, among other things, Israel's Olympic team until the early 1990s.

In January 2021, she was interviewed by AP on the occasion of her 100th birthday:

These 100 years have felt like 60 to me. I live well. And I love life. It's fantastic that I still have my health.

Tags

TTT
By TTThis article has been altered and translated by Sweden Herald

More news

Hamilton and Leclerc Disqualified as Piastri Shines in Shanghai

Hamilton and Leclerc Disqualified as Piastri Shines in Shanghai

Therese Johaug Ends Career with Dominant 50km Victory in Lahti

Therese Johaug Ends Career with Dominant 50km Victory in Lahti

Emil Forsberg's Brace Lifts New York RB Over Toronto FC in MLS Clash

Emil Forsberg's Brace Lifts New York RB Over Toronto FC in MLS Clash

LeBron James Returns from Injury for Lakers vs. Bulls Matchup

LeBron James Returns from Injury for Lakers vs. Bulls Matchup

Forsberg's Two Goals Propel Nashville to Victory Over Toronto

Forsberg's Two Goals Propel Nashville to Victory Over Toronto

Djurgården Advances to Semifinals with Fourth Straight Victory

Djurgården Advances to Semifinals with Fourth Straight Victory

Brynäs Rallies Past Malmö After Controversial Penalty in Playoffs

Brynäs Rallies Past Malmö After Controversial Penalty in Playoffs

AIK Triumphs Over Financially Struggling Linköping in Season Opener

AIK Triumphs Over Financially Struggling Linköping in Season Opener

Tiara Brown Claims Featherweight Title in Close Victory Over Nicolson

Tiara Brown Claims Featherweight Title in Close Victory Over Nicolson

Lægreid Clinches World Championship, Outshines Biathlon Legend Bø

Lægreid Clinches World Championship, Outshines Biathlon Legend Bø

Simon Åström Steps In as New Swedish Football Association Chairman

Simon Åström Steps In as New Swedish Football Association Chairman

Reinfeldt Questions US Role in 2026 World Cup Hosting

Reinfeldt Questions US Role in 2026 World Cup Hosting

Stina Nilsson Claims Third Consecutive Ski Classics Victory

Stina Nilsson Claims Third Consecutive Ski Classics Victory

Carlos Alcaraz Upset by 37-Year-Old David Goffin in Miami Tournament

Carlos Alcaraz Upset by 37-Year-Old David Goffin in Miami Tournament

German Star Rydzek Triumphs Over Sweden Again in Lahtis Sprint

German Star Rydzek Triumphs Over Sweden Again in Lahtis Sprint

Argentina Nears World Championship After Almada's Stunning Goal

Argentina Nears World Championship After Almada's Stunning Goal

Henriksson Falls Short in 60m Semifinal at Indoor World Championship

Henriksson Falls Short in 60m Semifinal at Indoor World Championship

Christer Gardell Invests Millions in Swedish Sports, Urges Others to Follow

Christer Gardell Invests Millions in Swedish Sports, Urges Others to Follow

Lewis Hamilton Claims First Ferrari Victory in China Sprint Race

Lewis Hamilton Claims First Ferrari Victory in China Sprint Race

Sweden's Curling Team Stunned by China in World Championship Exit

Sweden's Curling Team Stunned by China in World Championship Exit

Boxing Icon George Foreman Dies at 76, Remembered by Mike Tyson

Boxing Icon George Foreman Dies at 76, Remembered by Mike Tyson

Rakell Shines with Goal and Assist in Pittsburgh's Win Over Columbus

Rakell Shines with Goal and Assist in Pittsburgh's Win Over Columbus

Myles Lewis-Skelly Makes History in Tuchel's England Debut

Myles Lewis-Skelly Makes History in Tuchel's England Debut

Färjestad Triumphs 6-2 in Quarterfinal with Backup Goalie Lindbäck

Färjestad Triumphs 6-2 in Quarterfinal with Backup Goalie Lindbäck

HV71 Triumphs in Overtime to Tie Series Against Modo

HV71 Triumphs in Overtime to Tie Series Against Modo

Teen Sensation Stenberg Scores, but Frölunda Falls to Timrå in Quarterfinal

Teen Sensation Stenberg Scores, but Frölunda Falls to Timrå in Quarterfinal

León Disqualified from Club World Championship Over Ownership Rules

León Disqualified from Club World Championship Over Ownership Rules

Elvira Öberg Misses Podium After Penalties in Biathlon Sprint

Elvira Öberg Misses Podium After Penalties in Biathlon Sprint

IOC President Kirsty Coventry's Parents Robbed at Gunpoint in Zimbabwe

IOC President Kirsty Coventry's Parents Robbed at Gunpoint in Zimbabwe

Conor McGregor Appeals Assault Conviction, Cites New Evidence

Conor McGregor Appeals Assault Conviction, Cites New Evidence

Filip Gravenfors Injured in Semifinal Crash, Misses World Championship Medal

Filip Gravenfors Injured in Semifinal Crash, Misses World Championship Medal

Coletta Rydzek Claims First World Cup Sprint Victory in Lahtis

Coletta Rydzek Claims First World Cup Sprint Victory in Lahtis

14-Year-Old Alexander Andersson Makes Historic Debut for Djurgården

14-Year-Old Alexander Andersson Makes Historic Debut for Djurgården

Photographers Escape Close Call with Shot Put at World Championship

Photographers Escape Close Call with Shot Put at World Championship

Norwegian Ski Star Amundsen Ill, Misses Lahtis Sprint

Norwegian Ski Star Amundsen Ill, Misses Lahtis Sprint

Fanny Roos Achieves Seasonal Best, Finishes Fourth at World Championship

Fanny Roos Achieves Seasonal Best, Finishes Fourth at World Championship

Bø Triumphs in Holmenkollen Sprint as Samuelsson Struggles with Shooting

Bø Triumphs in Holmenkollen Sprint as Samuelsson Struggles with Shooting

Women's Damallsvenskan 2025: Key Storylines for the Season Opener

Women's Damallsvenskan 2025: Key Storylines for the Season Opener

Pihlström Eyes World Championship Medal Behind Ingebrigtsen

Pihlström Eyes World Championship Medal Behind Ingebrigtsen

Luxembourg vs Sweden: New Faces and Season Kickoff for Swedish Team

Luxembourg vs Sweden: New Faces and Season Kickoff for Swedish Team