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{{short description|Israeli artistic gymnast (1921–2025)}}{{Recent death}}{{Hungarian name|Keleti Ágnes}} {{Short description|Hungarian-Israeli artistic gymnast (1921–2025)}}
{{Hungarian name|Keleti Ágnes}}
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{{Infobox gymnast {{Infobox gymnast
| name = Ágnes Keleti | name = Ágnes Keleti
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| country = ] ] ] | country = ] ] ]
| module = {{Infobox person|child=yes | module = {{Infobox person|child=yes
| spouse = Róbert Bíró | spouse = {{marriage|]|1944|1950|end=divorced}}<br>{{marriage|Róbert Bíró|1959}}
| children = 2}} | children = 2}}
| formercountry = | formercountry =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|1|9|df=y}} | birth_date = {{birth date|1921|1|9|df=y}}
| birth_place = ], ] | birth_place = ], ]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|1|2|1921|1|9|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|1|2|1921|1|9|df=y}}
| death_place = Budapest, ] | death_place = Budapest, Hungary
| hometown = | hometown =
| residence = | residence =
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'''Ágnes Keleti''' (née '''Klein'''; 9 January 1921 – 2 January 2025) was a Hungarian ] and coach who won multiple Olympic medals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nemzet |first=Magyar |date=2025-01-02 |title=Elhunyt Keleti Ágnes, a Nemzet Sportolója |url=https://magyarnemzet.hu/sport/2025/01/elhunyt-keleti-agnes-a-nemzet-sportoloja |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Elhunyt Keleti Ágnes, a Nemzet Sportolója |language=hu}}</ref> She was the oldest living Olympic champion and medallist, reaching her 100th birthday on 9 January 2021.<ref name="ap2021">{{cite news |last1=Spike |first1=Justin |title='I love life': Oldest living Olympic champion turns 100 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/gymnastics/agnes-keleti-oldest-olympian-turns-100-1.5867686 |access-date=10 January 2021 |agency=The Associated Press |publisher=CBC Sports |date=9 January 2021}}</ref><ref name=oldest>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-24|title=Oldest living Olympic champion Agnes Keleti to turn 100|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201224-oldest-living-olympic-champion-agnes-keleti-to-turn-100|access-date=2020-12-30|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref> While representing Hungary at the ], she won 10 Olympic medals including five gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals, and is considered to be one of the most successful Jewish Olympic athletes of all time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dbs.bh.org.il/luminary/keleti-agnes|title=Heroes - Trailblazers of the Jewish People|website=Beit Hatfutsot}}</ref> Keleti holds more Olympic medals than any other individual with Israeli citizenship, and more Olympic medals than any other Jew, except ].<ref name=jhf> International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame</ref><ref name=jis> Jews in Sports</ref> She was the most successful athlete at the ]. In 1957, Keleti ].<ref name="10 medals">{{cite web | url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/10-medal-olympian-quietly-living-golden-years-in-israel/ | title=10-medal Olympian quietly living her golden years in Israel | work=The Times of Israel | date=August 14, 2012 | access-date=August 14, 2012 | author=Heller, Aaron}}</ref><ref name=oldest/>In 2017, she was awarded the ] in sports. '''Ágnes Keleti''' (née '''Klein'''; 9 January 1921 – 2 January 2025) was a Hungarian and Israeli ] and coach, who won multiple Olympic medals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 January 2025 |title=Elhunyt Keleti Ágnes, a Nemzet Sportolója |url=https://magyarnemzet.hu/sport/2025/01/elhunyt-keleti-agnes-a-nemzet-sportoloja |access-date=2 January 2025 |website=Magyar Nemzet |language=hu}}</ref> She was the oldest living Olympic champion and medallist, reaching her ] on 9 January 2021.<ref name="ap2021">{{cite news |last1=Spike |first1=Justin |title='I love life': Oldest living Olympic champion turns 100 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/gymnastics/agnes-keleti-oldest-olympian-turns-100-1.5867686 |access-date=10 January 2021 |agency=The Associated Press |publisher=CBC Sports |date=9 January 2021}}</ref><ref name=oldest>{{Cite web|date=24 December 2020|title=Oldest living Olympic champion Agnes Keleti to turn 100|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201224-oldest-living-olympic-champion-agnes-keleti-to-turn-100|access-date=30 December 2020|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref> While representing Hungary at the ], she won 10 Olympic medals including five gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals, and is considered to be one of the most successful ] Olympic athletes of all time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dbs.bh.org.il/luminary/keleti-agnes|title=Heroes – Trailblazers of the Jewish People|website=Beit Hatfutsot}}</ref> Keleti earned more Olympic medals than any other individual with Israeli citizenship, and more Olympic medals than any other Jew, except ].<ref name="jhf">{{Cite web |title=Agnes Keleti (Klein) |url=http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/AgnesKeleti(Klein).htm |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=www.jewishsports.net}}</ref><ref name="jis"> Jews in Sports</ref> She was the most successful athlete at the ].


In 1957, Keleti ], where she worked as a coach,<ref name="10 medals">{{cite web | url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/10-medal-olympian-quietly-living-golden-years-in-israel/ | title=10-medal Olympian quietly living her golden years in Israel | work=The Times of Israel | date=14 August 2012 | access-date=14 August 2012 | author=Heller, Aaron}}</ref><ref name=oldest/><ref>{{Cite web |last=ToI Staff |title=Agnes Keleti, Holocaust survivor and oldest living Olympic medalist, dies at 103 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/agnes-keleti-holocaust-survivor-and-oldest-living-olympic-medalist-dies-at-103/ |access-date=4 January 2025 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> eventually returning to her native Hungary in 2015 at the age of 94. In 2017, she was awarded the ] in sports.
⚫ Keleti died at the age of 103 in Hungary, where she had lived since 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elhunyt Keleti Ágnes ötszörös olimpiai bajnok tornász, a Nemzet Sportolója |url=https://hirado.hu/belfold/cikk/2025/01/02/elhunyt-keleti-agnes-otszoros-olimpiai-bajnok-tornasz-a-nemzet-sportoloja |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=hirado.hu |language=hu}}</ref>


==Career== ==Biography==
Agnes Klein (later Keleti) <ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics : with a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists|author=Taylor, P.|date=2004|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=9781903900888|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0KzECrIQDQC|page=196|access-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref> was born in ], Hungary. She began to train in ] at the age of 4, and by 16 was the Hungarian National Champion in gymnastics. Over the course of her career, between 1937 and 1956, she won the Championships title ten times.<ref name=jis /><ref name=what> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010233500/http://www.gymn.ca/gymnasticgreats/wag/keleti.htm |date=2012-10-10 }} Gymnastic Greats, December 22, 1999</ref><ref name=ighof> International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, 2002</ref> Agnes Klein (later Keleti)<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics : with a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists|author=Taylor, P.|date=2004|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=9781903900888|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0KzECrIQDQC|page=196|access-date=13 April 2015}}</ref> was born in ], Hungary. She began to train in ] at the age of 4, and by 16 was the Hungarian National Champion in gymnastics. Over the course of her career, between 1937 and 1956, she won the Championships title ten times.<ref name=jis /><ref name="what">{{Cite web |title=GymnasticGreats.com: Whatever happened to Agnes Keleti? |url=http://www.gymn.ca/gymnasticgreats/wag/keleti.htm |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20170312220443/http://www.gymn.ca:80/gymnasticgreats/wag/keleti.htm |archive-date=2017-03-12 |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=www.gymn.ca}}</ref><ref name="ighof">{{Cite web |title=Agnes Keleti {{!}} The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame |url=https://www.ighof.com/inductees/2002_Agnes_Keleti.php |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=www.ighof.com}}</ref> She changed her surname to Keleti to make it more Hungarian-sounding.<ref name="pneumonia">{{cite web |title=Agnes Keleti, world's oldest Olympic champion, dies at 103 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250102-agnes-keleti-world-s-oldest-olympic-champion-dies-at-103 |website=France 24 |language=en |date=2 January 2025 |access-date=2 January 2025}}</ref>


Keleti was considered a top prospect for the Hungarian team at the 1940 Olympics, but the escalation of ] cancelled both the 1940 and the 1944 Games. She was expelled from her gymnastics club in 1941 for being a Jew.<ref name=autogenerated1></ref> Keleti was forced to go into hiding to survive the war. Because she had heard a rumour married women were not taken to ]s, she hastily married ] in 1944.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Sárkány was a Hungarian gymnast of the 1930s who achieved national titles and took part in the ]. They divorced in 1950. Keleti survived the war by purchasing and using an identity paper of a Christian girl and working as a maid in a small village. Her mother and sister went into hiding and were saved using Swiss protection papers issued by diplomat ] and possibly also by Swedish diplomat ]. Her father and other relatives were murdered by the Nazis by gassing in the ].<ref name=jhf /><ref name=jis /><ref name=what /><ref name=ighof /><ref name=autogenerated3></ref><ref name=autogenerated1 /> She managed to survive the Holocaust by hiding in the Hungarian countryside.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bh.org.il/blog-items/10-jews-reached-highest-achievements-sports/|title=10 Jews that have Reached the Highest Achievements in Sports|date=2017-06-27|website=Beit Hatfutsot|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-12}}</ref> In the winter of 1944–45, during the ] by Soviet forces near the end of World War II, Keleti would in the morning collect bodies of those who had died and place them in a mass grave.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Keleti was considered a top prospect for the Hungarian team at the 1940 Olympics, but the escalation of ] cancelled both the 1940 and the 1944 Games. She was expelled from her gymnastics club in 1941 for being a Jew.<ref name=autogenerated1></ref> Because she had heard a rumour married women were not taken to ]s, she hastily married ] in 1944.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Sárkány was a Hungarian gymnast of the 1930s who achieved national titles and took part in the ]. Keleti survived the war by purchasing and using an identity paper of a Christian girl and working as a maid in a small village in the Hungarian countryside.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2017 |title=10 Jews that have Reached the Highest Achievements in Sports |url=https://www.bh.org.il/blog-items/10-jews-reached-highest-achievements-sports/ |access-date=12 March 2020 |website=Beit Hatfutsot |language=en-US}}</ref> Her mother and sister went into hiding and were saved using Swiss protection papers issued by diplomat ] and possibly also by Swedish diplomat ]. Her father and other relatives were murdered by the Nazis by gassing in the ].<ref name=jhf /><ref name=jis /><ref name=what /><ref name=ighof /><ref name="autogenerated3">{{Cite book |last=Mallon |first=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mM0XzW03AcC&pg=PA188 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement |last2=Heijmans |first2=Jeroen |date=2011-08-11 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7522-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated1 /> In the winter of 1944–45, during the ] by Soviet forces near the end of World War II, Keleti would collect bodies of those who had died and place them in a mass grave each morning.<ref name=autogenerated2 />


After the war, Keleti played the ] professionally and resumed training.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> In 1946, she won her first Hungarian championship.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> In 1947, she won the Central European gymnastics title.<ref></ref> She qualified for the ], but missed the competition due to tearing a ligament in her ankle.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> She is listed on the Official List of Gymnastic Participants as Ágnes Sárkány. At the ] of 1949 she won four gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/jewess-press/impact-women-history/agnes-keleti-the-foundation-stone-of-gymnastics-in-israel/2012/07/22/?src=ataglance|title=Agnes Keleti: The Foundation Stone Of Gymnastics In Israel|work=The Jewish Press|first=Livia|last=Bitton-Jackson|date=22 July 2012|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> After the war, Keleti played the ] professionally and resumed training.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> In 1946, she won her first Hungarian championship.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> In 1947, she won the Central European gymnastics title.<ref></ref> She qualified for the ], but missed the competition due to tearing a ligament in her ankle.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> She is listed on the Official List of Gymnastic Participants as Ágnes Sárkány. At the ] of 1949 she won four gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/jewess-press/impact-women-history/agnes-keleti-the-foundation-stone-of-gymnastics-in-israel/2012/07/22/?src=ataglance|title=Agnes Keleti: The Foundation Stone Of Gymnastics In Israel|work=The Jewish Press|first=Livia|last=Bitton-Jackson|date=22 July 2012|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> She divorced her husband, ], in 1950.{{cn|date=January 2025}}


Keleti continued training and competed at the Olympics for the first time at the age of 31 at the ] in Helsinki. She earned four medals: gold in the ], silver in the team competition, and bronze in the team portable apparatus event and the ]. Keleti continued on to the ], where she won on the uneven bars, becoming world champion.<ref name=jhf /><ref name=what /><ref name=autogenerated3 /> At the ] in ], Keleti won six medals including gold medals in three of the four individual event finals: floor, bars, and ], and placed second in the all-around.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> She was the most successful athlete at these games.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Ingle|first=Sean|date=2021-01-11|title=Agnes Keleti: Olympic great who fled Nazis and Soviets smashes 100 barrier|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2021/jan/11/olympic-great-agnes-keletis-journey-to-100th-birthday-is-extraordinary|access-date=2021-01-11|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The Hungarian team placed first in the portable apparatus event and second in the team competition. At the age of 35, Keleti became the oldest female gymnast ever to win gold. The Soviet Union ] during the 1956 Olympics. Keleti, along with 44 other athletes from the Hungarian delegation, decided to remain in Australia and received ].<ref name="ap2021"/> She became a coach for Australian gymnasts.<ref name=":0" /> Keleti continued training and competed at the Olympics for the first time at the age of 31 at the ] in Helsinki. She earned four medals: gold in the ], silver in the team competition, and bronze in the team portable apparatus event and the ]. Keleti continued on to the ], where she won on the uneven bars, becoming world champion.<ref name=jhf /><ref name=what /><ref name=autogenerated3 /> At the ] in ], Keleti won six medals including gold medals in three of the four individual event finals: floor, bars, and ], and placed second in the all-around.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> She was the most successful athlete at these games.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Ingle|first=Sean|date=11 January 2021|title=Agnes Keleti: Olympic great who fled Nazis and Soviets smashes 100 barrier|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2021/jan/11/olympic-great-agnes-keletis-journey-to-100th-birthday-is-extraordinary|access-date=11 January 2021|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The Hungarian team placed first in the portable apparatus event and second in the team competition. At the age of 35, Keleti became the oldest female gymnast ever to win gold. The Soviet Union ] during the 1956 Olympics. Keleti, along with 44 other athletes from the Hungarian delegation, decided to remain in Australia and received ].<ref name="ap2021"/> She became a coach for Australian gymnasts.<ref name=":0" />


Keleti emigrated to Israel in 1957, competing in the ], and she was able to send for her mother and sister.<ref name=jhf /><ref name=jis /><ref name=what /><ref name=ighof /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2012/08/15/one-of-worlds-most-decorated-olympic-gymnasts-lives-in-israel-still-does-her-splits/|title=One of World's Most Decorated Olympic Gymnasts Lives In Israel, Still Does Her Splits|work=The Algemeiner|first=Atara|last=Arbesfeld|date=15 August 2012|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> In 1959, she married Hungarian physical education teacher Robert Biro whom she met in Israel, and they had two sons, Daniel and Rafael.<ref></ref><ref name=autogenerated2 /> Following her retirement from competition, Keleti worked as a physical education instructor at ], and for 34 years at the ] for Sports in ].<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Keleti immigrated to Israel in 1957, competing in the ], and she was able to send for her mother and sister.<ref name=jhf /><ref name=jis /><ref name=what /><ref name=ighof /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2012/08/15/one-of-worlds-most-decorated-olympic-gymnasts-lives-in-israel-still-does-her-splits/|title=One of World's Most Decorated Olympic Gymnasts Lives In Israel, Still Does Her Splits|work=The Algemeiner|first=Atara|last=Arbesfeld|date=15 August 2012|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> In 1959, she married Hungarian physical education teacher Robert Biro whom she met in Israel, and they had two sons, Daniel and Rafael.<ref></ref><ref name=autogenerated2 /> Following her retirement from competition, Keleti worked as a physical education instructor at ], and for 34 years at the ] for Sports in ].<ref name=autogenerated2 />
] in Israel on 12 May 1960<ref>Source Israel National Photo Collection via Wikimedia Commons</ref>]] Keleti also coached and worked with Israel's national gymnastics team well into the 1990s.<ref name="ap2021"/><ref name=jhf /><ref name=ighof /> In 2015, she returned to her native Budapest.<ref name=oldest/> ] in Israel on 12 May 1960<ref>Source Israel National Photo Collection via Wikimedia Commons</ref>]] Keleti also coached and worked with Israel's national gymnastics team well into the 1990s.<ref name="ap2021"/><ref name=jhf /><ref name=ighof /> From 1990 onward, she gradually spent more time in her homeland of Hungary, ultimately settling in her native Budapest in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://index.hu/sport/2019/01/29/keleti_agnes_sparga_ute_halhatatlanok_klubja/|title=Spárgával nyűgözte le a gyerekeket 98 éves olimpiai bajnokunk|work=]|author=Ághassi Attila|date=2019-01-29|accessdate=2019-11-01}}</ref><ref name=oldest/>

Keleti has been the oldest Hungarian Olympic champion since ] died on 21 May 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 June 2017|url=https://www.szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu/ezt-tenyleg-nem-hisszuk-el-remek-formaban-van-a-96-eves-keleti-agnes/|title=Ezt tényleg nem hisszük el: remek formában van a 96 éves Keleti Ágnes|publisher=szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu|access-date=23 December 2017|language=hu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=25 February 2017|url=https://nepszava.hu/cikk/1094598-elhunyt-tarics-sandor-a-legidosebb-olimpiai-bajnok|title=Elhunyt Tarics Sándor, a legidősebb olimpiai bajnok - Népszava|publisher=NÉPSZAVA online|access-date=25 December 2017|language=hu}}</ref> She became the oldest living Olympic champion when ] died on 13 April 2019.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Piilonen |first1=Teijo |title=Maailman vanhimman olympiavoittajan traaginen historia: natsit veivät isän Auschwitziin |url=https://www.is.fi/muutlajit/art-2000006069719.html?ref=rss |website=Ilta-Sanomat |access-date=14 April 2019 |language=fi |date=13 April 2019}}</ref> She celebrated her 100th birthday in January 2021.<ref name="ap2021"/> She became the longest-lived Olympic champion ever on 7 August 2023, breaking the record previously held by Tarics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Keleti Ágnes a mindenkori legidősebb olimpiai bajnok! |url=https://www.nemzetisport.hu/egyeb_egyeni/keleti-agnes-a-legidosebb-elo-olimpiai-bajnok-2977297 |website=] |access-date=7 August 2023 |language=hu |date=7 August 2023}}</ref> Keleti has been the oldest Hungarian Olympic champion since ] died on 21 May 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 June 2017|url=https://www.szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu/ezt-tenyleg-nem-hisszuk-el-remek-formaban-van-a-96-eves-keleti-agnes/|title=Ezt tényleg nem hisszük el: remek formában van a 96 éves Keleti Ágnes|publisher=szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu|access-date=23 December 2017|language=hu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=25 February 2017|url=https://nepszava.hu/cikk/1094598-elhunyt-tarics-sandor-a-legidosebb-olimpiai-bajnok|title=Elhunyt Tarics Sándor, a legidősebb olimpiai bajnok – Népszava|publisher=NÉPSZAVA online|access-date=25 December 2017|language=hu}}</ref> She became the oldest living Olympic champion when ] died on 13 April 2019.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Piilonen |first1=Teijo |title=Maailman vanhimman olympiavoittajan traaginen historia: natsit veivät isän Auschwitziin |url=https://www.is.fi/muutlajit/art-2000006069719.html?ref=rss |website=Ilta-Sanomat |access-date=14 April 2019 |language=fi |date=13 April 2019}}</ref> She celebrated her 100th birthday in January 2021.<ref name="ap2021"/> She became the longest-lived Olympic champion ever on 7 August 2023, breaking the record previously held by Tarics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Keleti Ágnes a mindenkori legidősebb olimpiai bajnok! |url=https://www.nemzetisport.hu/egyeb_egyeni/keleti-agnes-a-legidosebb-elo-olimpiai-bajnok-2977297 |website=] |access-date=7 August 2023 |language=hu |date=7 August 2023}}</ref>

⚫ Keleti died in Budapest on 2 January 2025, at the age of 103,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elhunyt Keleti Ágnes ötszörös olimpiai bajnok tornász, a Nemzet Sportolója |url=https://hirado.hu/belfold/cikk/2025/01/02/elhunyt-keleti-agnes-otszoros-olimpiai-bajnok-tornasz-a-nemzet-sportoloja |access-date=2 January 2025 |website=hirado.hu |language=hu}}</ref> after being hospitalised with pneumonia in the previous week, one week before her 104th birthday.<ref name="pneumonia"/>


==Awards and honours== ==Awards and honours==
* Keleti was inducted into the ] in 1981,<ref name=jhf /> the Hungarian Sports Hall of Fame in 1991,<ref name=jis /> the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 2001,<ref></ref> and the ] in 2002.<ref name=ighof /> * Keleti was inducted into the ] in 1981,<ref name=jhf /> the Hungarian Sports Hall of Fame in 1991,<ref name=jis /> the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 2001,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wechsler |first=Bob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dAq4TGQsWwwC&dq=Agnes+Keleti&pg=PA206 |title=Day by Day in Jewish Sports History |date=2008 |publisher=KTAV Publishing House, Inc. |isbn=978-0-88125-969-8 |language=en}}</ref> and the ] in 2002.<ref name=ighof />
⚫ * In 1982, she was awarded the ] for sports.<ref>חולקו פרסי הרצל לתשמ"ב, '''דבר''', 25 בדצמבר 1981 {{in lang|he}}</ref>
*Keleti was named in Hungary's 12 "Athletes of the Nation" in 2004<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/oldest-living-olympic-champ-a-holocaust-survivor-turns-99/|title=Oldest living Olympic champ, a Holocaust survivor, turns 99|last=Gorondi|first=Pablo|work=The Times of Israel|date=9 January 2020|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref> *Keleti was named in Hungary's 12 "Athletes of the Nation" in 2004<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/oldest-living-olympic-champ-a-holocaust-survivor-turns-99/|title=Oldest living Olympic champ, a Holocaust survivor, turns 99|last=Gorondi|first=Pablo|work=The Times of Israel|date=9 January 2020|language=en-US|access-date=12 January 2020}}</ref>
⚫ * In 1982, she was awarded the ] for sports.
* Asteroid ], discovered by ] in 2005, was named in her honour.<ref name="MPC-object" /> The official {{MoMP|265594|naming citation}} was published by the ] on 12 July 2014 ({{small|] 89086}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" /> * Asteroid ], discovered by ] in 2005, was named in her honour.<ref name="MPC-object" /> The official {{MoMP|265594|naming citation}} was published by the ] on 12 July 2014 ({{small|] 89086}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />
* In 2017, she was announced laureate of the ] in the field of sports.<ref name=israelprize>{{cite web|url=http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/137687-170215-holocaust-survivor-10-time-olympic-medalist-agnes-keleti-awarded-israel-prize|title=Holocaust survivor, 10-time Olympic medallist Agnes Keleti awarded Israel Prize|work= i24 News|date=February 15, 2017|accessdate=February 21, 2021}}</ref> * In 2017, she was announced laureate of the ] in the field of sports.<ref name=israelprize>{{cite web|url=http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/137687-170215-holocaust-survivor-10-time-olympic-medalist-agnes-keleti-awarded-israel-prize|title=Holocaust survivor, 10-time Olympic medallist Agnes Keleti awarded Israel Prize|work= i24 News|date=15 February 2017|accessdate=21 February 2021}}</ref>

== Competitive results ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;"
|-
! align=center | Year
! align=center | Event
! style="width:30px;" | Team
! style="width:30px;" | ]
! style="width:30px;" | AA
! style="width:30px;" | ]
! style="width:30px;" | ]
! style="width:30px;" | ]
! style="width:30px;" | ]
|-
| '''1952''' || align=left | ] || {{silver2}} || {{bronze3}} || 6 || 41 || {{bronze3}} || 4 || {{gold1}}
|-
| '''1954''' || align=left | ] || {{silver2}} || {{n/a}} || || || {{gold1}} || {{bronze3}} || 4
|-
| '''1956''' || align=left | ] || {{silver2}} || {{gold1}} || {{silver2}} || 23 || {{gold1}} || {{gold1}} || {{gold1}}
|}


==See also== ==See also==
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==External links== ==External links==
*{{IMDb name| 2640421}}
* {{FIG|bio=19973|lic=432}} * {{FIG|bio=19973|lic=432}}
*{{IGHOF|2002_Agnes_Keleti}} *{{IGHOF|2002_Agnes_Keleti}}
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* {{MOB profile}} * {{MOB profile}}
* *
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040908210036/http://www.ujc.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=121764 |date=September 8, 2004 |title="The Forgotten Olympians" }} * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040908210036/http://www.ujc.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=121764 |date=8 September 2004 |title="The Forgotten Olympians" }}


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{{Footer Olympic Champions - Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Balance Beam}} {{Footer Olympic Champions - Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Balance Beam}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions - Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Floor Exercise}} {{Footer Olympic Champions - Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Floor Exercise}}
⚫ {{Footer Olympic Champions - Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Uneven Bars}}
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Latest revision as of 19:28, 22 January 2025

Hungarian-Israeli artistic gymnast (1921–2025) The native form of this personal name is Keleti Ágnes. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Ágnes Keleti
Keleti in 2021
Personal information
Alternative name(s)Ágnes Klein
Nickname(s)Aggi
Born(1921-01-09)9 January 1921
Budapest, Hungary
Died2 January 2025(2025-01-02) (aged 103)
Budapest, Hungary
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country represented Hungary
Years on national team1937–1940, 1946–1958 (HUN)
LevelSenior international
ClubNemzeti TE
Bp. Postás
TF Haladás
Újpesti TE
Retired1958
Medal record
Women's gymnastics
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki Floor exercise
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Uneven bars
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Balance beam
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Floor exercise
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Team, portable
Silver medal – second place 1952 Helsinki Team
Silver medal – second place 1956 Melbourne All-around
Silver medal – second place 1956 Melbourne Team
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Helsinki Uneven bars
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Helsinki Team, portable
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1954 Rome Uneven bars
Silver medal – second place 1954 Rome Team
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Rome Balance beam
Spouse(s) István Sárkány ​ ​(m. 1944; div. 1950)​
Róbert Bíró ​(m. 1959)​
Children2

Ágnes Keleti (née Klein; 9 January 1921 – 2 January 2025) was a Hungarian and Israeli artistic gymnast and coach, who won multiple Olympic medals. She was the oldest living Olympic champion and medallist, reaching her 100th birthday on 9 January 2021. While representing Hungary at the Summer Olympics, she won 10 Olympic medals including five gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals, and is considered to be one of the most successful Jewish Olympic athletes of all time. Keleti earned more Olympic medals than any other individual with Israeli citizenship, and more Olympic medals than any other Jew, except Mark Spitz. She was the most successful athlete at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

In 1957, Keleti immigrated to Israel, where she worked as a coach, eventually returning to her native Hungary in 2015 at the age of 94. In 2017, she was awarded the Israel Prize in sports.

Biography

Agnes Klein (later Keleti) was born in Budapest, Hungary. She began to train in gymnastics at the age of 4, and by 16 was the Hungarian National Champion in gymnastics. Over the course of her career, between 1937 and 1956, she won the Championships title ten times. She changed her surname to Keleti to make it more Hungarian-sounding.

Keleti was considered a top prospect for the Hungarian team at the 1940 Olympics, but the escalation of World War II cancelled both the 1940 and the 1944 Games. She was expelled from her gymnastics club in 1941 for being a Jew. Because she had heard a rumour married women were not taken to labour camps, she hastily married István Sárkány in 1944. Sárkány was a Hungarian gymnast of the 1930s who achieved national titles and took part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Keleti survived the war by purchasing and using an identity paper of a Christian girl and working as a maid in a small village in the Hungarian countryside. Her mother and sister went into hiding and were saved using Swiss protection papers issued by diplomat Carl Lutz and possibly also by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. Her father and other relatives were murdered by the Nazis by gassing in the Auschwitz concentration camp. In the winter of 1944–45, during the Siege of Budapest by Soviet forces near the end of World War II, Keleti would collect bodies of those who had died and place them in a mass grave each morning.

After the war, Keleti played the cello professionally and resumed training. In 1946, she won her first Hungarian championship. In 1947, she won the Central European gymnastics title. She qualified for the 1948 Summer Olympics, but missed the competition due to tearing a ligament in her ankle. She is listed on the Official List of Gymnastic Participants as Ágnes Sárkány. At the World University Games of 1949 she won four gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. She divorced her husband, István Sárkány, in 1950.

Keleti continued training and competed at the Olympics for the first time at the age of 31 at the 1952 Games in Helsinki. She earned four medals: gold in the floor exercise, silver in the team competition, and bronze in the team portable apparatus event and the uneven bars. Keleti continued on to the 1954 World Championships, where she won on the uneven bars, becoming world champion. At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Keleti won six medals including gold medals in three of the four individual event finals: floor, bars, and balance beam, and placed second in the all-around. She was the most successful athlete at these games. The Hungarian team placed first in the portable apparatus event and second in the team competition. At the age of 35, Keleti became the oldest female gymnast ever to win gold. The Soviet Union invaded Hungary during the 1956 Olympics. Keleti, along with 44 other athletes from the Hungarian delegation, decided to remain in Australia and received political asylum. She became a coach for Australian gymnasts.

Keleti immigrated to Israel in 1957, competing in the 1957 Maccabiah Games, and she was able to send for her mother and sister. In 1959, she married Hungarian physical education teacher Robert Biro whom she met in Israel, and they had two sons, Daniel and Rafael. Following her retirement from competition, Keleti worked as a physical education instructor at Tel Aviv University, and for 34 years at the Wingate Institute for Sports in Netanya.

Ágnes Keleti training a student at the Wingate Institute in Israel on 12 May 1960

Keleti also coached and worked with Israel's national gymnastics team well into the 1990s. From 1990 onward, she gradually spent more time in her homeland of Hungary, ultimately settling in her native Budapest in 2015.

Keleti has been the oldest Hungarian Olympic champion since Sándor Tarics died on 21 May 2016. She became the oldest living Olympic champion when Lydia Wideman died on 13 April 2019. She celebrated her 100th birthday in January 2021. She became the longest-lived Olympic champion ever on 7 August 2023, breaking the record previously held by Tarics.

Keleti died in Budapest on 2 January 2025, at the age of 103, after being hospitalised with pneumonia in the previous week, one week before her 104th birthday.

Awards and honours

Competitive results

Year Event Team TPA AA VT UB BB FX
1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 41 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 1st place, gold medalist(s)
1954 Rome World Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) — 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4
1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 23 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)

See also

References

  1. ^ Kordova, Shoshana (4 July 2005). "Not always a soft landing". Haaretz. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  2. "Elhunyt Keleti Ágnes, a Nemzet Sportolója". Magyar Nemzet (in Hungarian). 2 January 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ^ Spike, Justin (9 January 2021). "'I love life': Oldest living Olympic champion turns 100". CBC Sports. The Associated Press. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Oldest living Olympic champion Agnes Keleti to turn 100". France 24. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  5. "Heroes – Trailblazers of the Jewish People". Beit Hatfutsot.
  6. ^ "Agnes Keleti (Klein)". www.jewishsports.net. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Agnes Keleti profile" Jews in Sports
  8. Heller, Aaron (14 August 2012). "10-medal Olympian quietly living her golden years in Israel". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  9. ToI Staff. "Agnes Keleti, Holocaust survivor and oldest living Olympic medalist, dies at 103". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  10. Taylor, P. (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics : with a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists. Sussex Academic Press. p. 196. ISBN 9781903900888. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  11. ^ "GymnasticGreats.com: Whatever happened to Agnes Keleti?". www.gymn.ca. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Agnes Keleti | The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame". www.ighof.com. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Agnes Keleti, world's oldest Olympic champion, dies at 103". France 24. 2 January 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  14. ^ Nike is a Goddess: The History of Women in Sports – Google Books
  15. "10 Jews that have Reached the Highest Achievements in Sports". Beit Hatfutsot. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  16. ^ Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (11 August 2011). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7522-7.
  17. XVI Olympiad: Melbourne/Stockholm 1956, Squaw Valley 1960 – Carl Posey – Google Books
  18. Bitton-Jackson, Livia (22 July 2012). "Agnes Keleti: The Foundation Stone Of Gymnastics In Israel". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  19. ^ Ingle, Sean (11 January 2021). "Agnes Keleti: Olympic great who fled Nazis and Soviets smashes 100 barrier". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  20. Arbesfeld, Atara (15 August 2012). "One of World's Most Decorated Olympic Gymnasts Lives In Israel, Still Does Her Splits". The Algemeiner. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  21. Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother - Marnie Winston-Macauley - Internet Archive
  22. Source Israel National Photo Collection via Wikimedia Commons
  23. Ághassi Attila (29 January 2019). "Spárgával nyűgözte le a gyerekeket 98 éves olimpiai bajnokunk". Index.hu. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  24. "Ezt tényleg nem hisszük el: remek formában van a 96 éves Keleti Ágnes" (in Hungarian). szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  25. "Elhunyt Tarics Sándor, a legidősebb olimpiai bajnok – Népszava" (in Hungarian). NÉPSZAVA online. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  26. Piilonen, Teijo (13 April 2019). "Maailman vanhimman olympiavoittajan traaginen historia: natsit veivät isän Auschwitziin". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  27. "Keleti Ágnes a mindenkori legidősebb olimpiai bajnok!". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 7 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  28. "Elhunyt Keleti Ágnes ötszörös olimpiai bajnok tornász, a Nemzet Sportolója". hirado.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  29. Wechsler, Bob (2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88125-969-8.
  30. חולקו פרסי הרצל לתשמ"ב, דבר, 25 בדצמבר 1981 (in Hebrew)
  31. Gorondi, Pablo (9 January 2020). "Oldest living Olympic champ, a Holocaust survivor, turns 99". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  32. "265594 Keletiagnes (2005 RS3)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  33. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  34. "Holocaust survivor, 10-time Olympic medallist Agnes Keleti awarded Israel Prize". i24 News. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2021.

External links

Records
Preceded byHungary Margit Korondi Most career Olympic medals by a woman
1956–1964 		Succeeded bySoviet Union Larisa Latynina
Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Uneven Bars
Summary
Olympic champions in artistic gymnastics – Women's Balance Beam
Summary
Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Floor Exercise
Summary
World Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Uneven Bars
Members of the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
Men
Women
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