PETER KOHALMI/AFP via Getty Images

Ágnes Keleti, Oldest Living Olympic Medal Winner, Dies at Age 103

Adam Wells

Ágnes Keleti, the oldest living Olympic medalist, died on Thursday at the age of 103.

Per the Hungarian state news agency (h/t Bálint Dömötör of the Associated Press), Keleti died in her hometown of Budapest after being hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia on Dec. 25.

Keleti, whose family is Jewish, was on track to compete in the 1940 Olympics, but the start of World War II canceled the Games in 1940 and '44.

Per the Olympics website, after Keleti's father was killed by Nazis after being sent to Auschwitz, she and the other members of her family were able to survive by finding refuge in a safe house in Budapest administered by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.

Keleti resumed her gymnastics career after the end of the war. She represented Hungary at the Olympics in 1952 and '56, winning a total of 10 medals across the two Games.

Per the Hungarian Olympic Committee (h/t Reuters), Keleti was the oldest female gymnast to win a gold medal when she accomplished the feat at the age of 35 in 1956. She finished the Melbourne Games with four golds in the uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and the team portable apparatus event.

Keleti's 10 Olympic medals are tied for the fourth-most all-time among female gymnasts. She is behind only Larisa Latynina (18), Věra Čáslavská (11) and Simone Biles (11).

After the end of her competitive career, Keleti immigrated to Israel in 1957 and eventually became coach of the national women's gymnastics team. She was awarded the Israel Prize by the state government in 2017 for her athletic achievements and contributions to developing artistic gymnastics in Israel.

   

Read 9 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)