World’s Oldest Olympic Champion Passes Away at 103 Years Old

Ágnes Keleti, a legendary figure in the world of gymnastics and a Holocaust survivor, has passed away at the age of 103. Her death was confirmed by the Hungarian state news agency on Thursday morning in Budapest, where she had been hospitalized with pneumonia since December 25.

Keleti’s remarkable athletic career includes an impressive tally of 10 Olympic medals—five of which are gold. She competed for Hungary in both the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Games, embodying resilience in the face of personal tragedy. The loss of her father and several other relatives during the Holocaust marked a deeply painful chapter in her life.

In 2021, Keleti reflected on her longevity, stating, “These 100 years felt to me like 60. I live well. And I love life. It’s great that I’m still healthy.” Born Ágnes Klein in Budapest in 1921, her path to Olympic success was disrupted by World War II, which also led to the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics.

Her Jewish heritage led to her removal from her gymnastics team in 1941. To survive, Keleti went into hiding in the Hungarian countryside, adopting a false identity and working as a maid. Her mother and sister managed to survive the war with assistance from the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, whereas her father and many relatives were murdered at Auschwitz, part of the tragic loss of over half a million Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.

Although Keleti aimed to compete in the 1948 London Olympics, a last-minute ankle injury thwarted her ambitions. In a turn of fate, she finally made her Olympic debut at 31 in Helsinki, capturing gold in the floor exercise, along with a silver and two bronzes. The Melbourne Olympics in 1956 marked her peak, as she won four golds and two silvers, solidifying her status as the most successful athlete at those Games.

While achieving these feats, the backdrop of political turmoil loomed large; the Soviet Union’s invasion of Hungary occurred shortly after the Melbourne Games. As a result, Keleti sought political asylum in Australia, eventually immigrating to Israel, where she became a respected coach for the Israeli Olympic gymnastics team until the 1990s.