Ágnes Keleti, a Hungarian-Israeli gymnastics legend and Holocaust survivor widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, passed away Thursday at the age of 103.
Known as the "mother of Israeli gymnastics," Keleti was hospitalized in Budapest, Hungary, last Friday due to heart failure and respiratory issues stemming from pneumonia.
Just hours before her hospitalization, Keleti’s son told Hungarian media that her condition had been improving and that "she was smiling again," but her health deteriorated, and she died a week before her 104th birthday.
Keleti won 10 Olympic medals—five of them gold—representing Hungary at the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Games, making her the most decorated Jewish gymnast in history and Hungary’s most celebrated gymnast. After surviving the Holocaust, she immigrated to Israel in 1957 following her participation in the Fifth Maccabiah Games, where she became a founding figure in Israel’s gymnastics community.
The Israeli Olympic Committee mourned her passing, calling her "the greatest Jewish athlete of all time," a recipient of the prestigious Israel Prize and an "icon of excellence" who inspired generations. "Ágnes was a Holocaust survivor who turned pain into strength, faith into achievements and victories that touched thousands of hearts," the committee said in a statement.
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar also paid tribute, saying, "We part with sorrow and gratitude from Ágnes Keleti, one of the greatest athletes in history. The path she charted will continue to serve as an example and inspiration for Jewish and Israeli sports. May her memory be blessed.”
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Keleti’s story is one of a Holocaust survivor who overcame unimaginable challenges to forge an unparalleled sports career. Born in Hungary in 1921, Keleti survived the Nazi occupation by assuming a false identity as a maid named Juhász Piróska and entering a fictitious marriage with a Hungarian gymnast. Most of her family perished in Auschwitz, but her mother and aunt lived to witness her rise to athletic stardom.
Keleti’s passion for sports began early. She started gymnastics at a Jewish sports club at age four, alongside swimming, and briefly studied cello before fully dedicating herself to gymnastics.
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After the war, she resumed her training at 24, embarking on a decade of dominance, winning 10 consecutive Hungarian national titles and three medals at the 1956 World Championships. Her crowning achievements came at the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where she won 10 medals, including five golds, making her the most decorated Jewish gymnast in history.
Maccabiah, then Aliyah
Keleti made Aliyah in 1957 after participating in the Maccabiah Games, dubbed the "Jewish Olympics," where she introduced artistic gymnastics to the country. "I brought parallel bars and other equipment with me—Israel didn’t even know what gymnastics was," she said. She became a trailblazer, training generations of gymnasts and coaches at the Wingate Institute.
Her life was spared again during the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, as she was away from the Israeli delegation’s quarters when Palestinian Black September terrorists murdered 11 athletes.
In 2017, Keleti received the Israel Prize, the country's highest civilian accolade, for her contributions to sports. The prize committee praised her as “a singular, brilliant and groundbreaking woman—a leader and role model” who remains one of the greatest gymnasts in history.
On her 100th birthday, legendary gymnast Nadia Comaneci posted a video to X with warm wishes. "You have had an amazing life, not just as a gymnast, but in every way, you have shown us what a fighter and what a determined person you are," she says in the video. "What you achieved in Helsinki and Melbourne became an inspiration for a little girl like me growing up in Romania and wanting to do the same. Everyone admires you and loves you."