Gymnast Ágnes Keleti, five-time Olympic champion and the most successful Hungarian gymnast and Holocaust survivor, died at the age of 103 on Thursday December 2.
Ágnes Keleti was transported from her home in Budapest to Honvéd Hospital in Budapest on Christmas Day, suffering from heart failure and breathing difficulties, according to a source close to the family, writes Hungarian sports newspaper National Sport.
The 103-year-old Holocaust survivor and Olympic champion, an Israeli and Hungarian citizen, was already in critical condition.
The gymnast of Jewish origin, registered in Budapest on January 9, 1921 under the name Ágnes Klein, won more Olympic medals than any other Hungarian athlete and was one of the “founding members” of the “club” of five-time champions ( later joined by Krisztina Egerszegi and Danuta Kozák).
Keleti was awarded the title of national sportswoman in 2004, having started her sporting career at the National Gymnastics Club before making her debut with the Hungarian national team at the age of 18.
If her only challenge had been navigating her way through the world of gymnastics, her path to success in world competition would have been much simpler – but World War II presented additional obstacles. Frankly, it’s miraculous that she survived – and only after taking on an alias. Several relatives, including his father, were killed at Auschwitz, while his mother and brother were rescued by Swedish architect and humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg.
She should have demonstrated her exceptional abilities at the first post-war Olympic Games in London in 1948, but a torn ligament prevented her from doing so. Fortunately, she recovered and her first major international success came a year later at the World Collegiate Championships in Budapest, where she won several sets and the combined competition.
She also collected medals at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, winning the Olympic gold with her free routine (the predecessor of today’s floor exercises), as well as a silver and two of bronze.
Four years later, there was no doubt that the Hungarian, then 35 years old, was the best gymnast in the world. She capped her career with four gold medals at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, on floor, beam, high bar and as a member of the portable apparatus team, finishing second in the individual all-around and in the team competition.
A five-time Olympic champion and world champion (she won all three medals between Helsinki and London at the World Championships in Rome in 1954), she moved to Israel in 1957, where she partly laid the foundations for gymnastics in the country. Keleti went on to serve as captain of the national team, a professor at the Israel College of Physical Education, and a referee in international competitions.
A beloved figure in Hungary, she has also received numerous awards and honors, including the MOB (Hungarian Olympic Committee) medal and the Presidential medal. His last club, UTE, named its gymnasium after Keleti – the organization’s greatest pride.
