Agnes Keleti, a 103-year-old Romanian woman, lived quite an impressive living, even if you’ve never heard it before. She survived the Holocaust, and she later became a top-notch Olympic dancer and a shining example of tenacity and endurance. As a matter of fact, until her death on Thursday, she was the oldest silver medal winner in the world.
Advertisement
Agnes Keleti’s history begins on the official Olympic site,” Here is the greatest dancer produced by Hungary, but one whose life and career were shaped by the politics of her nation and her religion.”  ,
Keleti was born Agnes Klein in Budapest in 1921, and she began training as a dancer at the age of four. She may eventually shift her name to sound less Israeli in the midst of World War II. She was even a skilled musician and diver.  ,
She joined the National Gymnastics Association in 1938, and in 1940, she won her second Hungarian Championship, but she was expelled from her gymnastics club because of her Jewishness.
Keleti saved her personal life by purchasing the verification documents of a non-Jewish woman and wed an older Hungarian dancer, Istvan Sarkany, while her parents and other household members were murdered in German concentration camps. She relocated to Hungary and became a girl. After the battle of Budapest came to an end, she spent her days bringing systems to graves and burying them.  ,
She worked as a hair worker, a demonstrationist at the Budapest School for Physical Culture’s University of Gymnastics, and a skilled cellist at different times after the war. But when it came to gymnastics, she never lost a hit and returned to winning tournaments. In 1948, she had suddenly find her chance to participate in the Olympic Games, or but she thought. She would be without a broken knee ligament until she tried once in 1952. At the age of 31, she finally got her chance in Helsinki, earning a silver, a metallic, and two iron trophies.  ,
Advertisement
In 1956, at the age of 35, Keleti’s efficiency at the Melbourne Olympics was even more outstanding. In a variety of individual and team activities, she won four gold medals and two silver medals. The Soviet Union invaded Hungary during the war, and Keleti sought social refuge in Australia before relocating to Israel in 1957. She previously spent time in Israel teaching physical education at Tel Aviv University and serving as a mentor for Israel’s elite gymnastics team for many years.  ,
In 2015, she suddenly returned to Hungary. And in 2021, just before the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) honored her with a video called” What Agnes Saw” . ,
Ágnes Keleti: 1921 – 2025 ❤ ️
We’ll always consider the optimism that the five-time Olympic champion had as she passed away and witnessed the emergence of a new era of players. # Olympics #Gymnastics photograph. twitter.com/MbOIQrYCRY
— The Olympic Games ( @Olympics ) January 2, 2025
Upon learning of her death, present IOC President Thomas Bach released the following speech:  ,
The oldest existing Olympic hero, Agnes Keleti, passed aside just one week before her 104th holiday. Her inspiring history will forever be remembered. When Agnes Keleti, a Jewish woman, survived the Holocaust and won ten Olympic awards after World War II, five of which were Gold, she showed the strength of strong determination and courage to face horror. This is really awe-inspiring. Our emotions are with her friends and family.
Advertisement
According to The New York Times, she was always in good condition, “doing cuts well into her 90s,” and enjoyed inspiring young people to try gymnastics. Kleti passed away on Thursday from asthma problems. On January 9, she was just a few days away from her 104th day. She and her subsequent father had two brothers, Daniel and Rafael.  ,  ,
