Oldest Living Olympic Medalist and Holocaust Survivor Ágnes Keleti Dies at 103

Mar. 15, 2025

Ágnes Keleti.Photo:ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty

Agnes Keleti, a survivor of the Holocaust, won 10 Olympic medals in Helsinki (1952) and in Melbourne (1956) and is considered to be the world’s oldest living Olympian.

ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty

Ágnes Keleti, a Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic medalist, has died at age 103 following a recent hospitalization.

Keleti, who was hospitalized on Christmas Day in critical condition with pneumonia, died Thursday, Jan. 2, in Budapest, according to the Hungarian state news agency, theAssociated Pressreported.

Ágnes Keleti.AP Photo/Oded Balilty

Agnes Keleti, a 91-year-old former Olympic gymnast, performs a split at her house in Herzliya, Israel, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. Keleti won 10 Olympic medals, including 5 gold medals, while she represented Hungary in the Olympic games of 1948, 1952, and 1956.

AP Photo/Oded Balilty

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Keleti’s career stalled due to World War II, the cancellation of the Olympics in 1940 and 1944 and an ankle injury in 1948, but she made a triumphant comeback just a few years later after surviving the Holocaust.

Ágnes Keleti.ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty

Agnes Keleti, a survivor of the Holocaust, won 10 Olympic medals in Helsinki (1952) and in Melbourne (1956) and is considered to be the world’s oldest living Olympian.

After the news of her death, the International Olympic Committee spoke of her greatness in the sport of gymnastics.

On her 100th birthday back in 2021, Keleti told the AP how she felt turning a century old. “These 100 years felt to me like 60. I live well. And I love life. It’s great that I’m still healthy.”

Keleti was set to celebrate her 104th birthday on Jan. 9.

source: people.com

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