Mourning for Ágnes Keleti: Olympic champion, Holocaust survivor and inspiration for generations

The oldest living Olympic champion, Ágnes Keleti, has passed away at the age of 103. Born in Budapest, she was not only an outstanding gymnast with a total of ten Olympic medals, including five gold medals, but also a survivor of the Holocaust. Keleti, who resumed her career after the Second World War, celebrated her greatest successes at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. There she won six medals, four of them gold. IOC President Thomas Bach honored them as a symbol of determination and courage, whose legacy goes far beyond sport.

The Hungarian-Israeli, now retired Olympic and world champion in artistic gymnastics, Ágnes Keleti, poses for photos in front of a poster of her biography in her apartment in Budapest on November 6, 2020. Source: AFP / ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images