WorthyNews: Hungary’s Jews Mourn Star Ágnes Keleti, Olympian and Holocaust Survivor

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s Jewish community has remembered Ágnes Keleti, the world’s oldest living and one of the most successful Olympians, until she passed away at age 103 this month.

https://worthynews-1fe3e.kxcdn.com/wordpressimages/2025/01/agnes-keleti-worthy-ministries-275x360.jpegAlthough her gymnastics career was interrupted by World War Two when she was forced to flee Nazi persecution in Budapest, the capital, because of her Jewish faith, she never gave up.

Keleti became the most successful athlete at the 1956 Summer Olympics, winning four golds and two silvers.

It was also the year that Hungary’s Revolution against Soviet Communist domination was crushed by Russian troops, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the country.

The five-time Olympic champion Hungarian gymnast Keleti won her first gold, aged 31, at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Finland. In 1956, she won four more in Melbourne, Australia, becoming the oldest female gymnast to win gold.

Her 10 Olympic medals, including five golds, made her the second most successful Hungarian athlete.

“The kids came running after the floor routine, happily shouting and cheering and announcing, ‘You’ve won the Olympic medal.’Oh my God, amazing,” she recalled in an interview.

HUNGARIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Keleti was born in Budapest in 1921 and won her first Hungarian championship in 1940. Later that year, however, she was banned from all sports activities because of her Jewish origin.

“I only started regular training when I turned 16. They were not even anything competitive. It sounds ridiculous today that a girl would start gymnastics as late as the age of 16.”

However, “I continued with gymnastics. I carried on training. A coach thought I had talent, and in fact, I was even chosen for a team that was competing in an international tournament against the Italians. In the end I couldn’t go because of another gymnast went to the sports union and told them I was Jewish. That put an end to my early flourishing career.”

According to the Hungarian Olympic Committee (HOC), she escaped deportation to Nazi death camps by hiding in a village south of Budapest with false papers. Her father and several relatives died in the Auschwitz death camp.

They were among 600,000 Hungarian Jews killed by the Nazis and Hungarian supporters.

Her Olympic successes after surviving the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, were seen as a testament to her strength and determination to continue living.

“I never went to the competition with the intention of winning, never! And I was happiest with the gold medal for the freestyle team event because I was the one who choreographed it,” she once said.

ISRAEL JOURNEY

A year after the 1956 Melbourne Games, Keleti settled in Israel, where she married and had two children while coaching gymnastics.

Decades later, following the collapse of the Communist dictatorship in Hungary, the sports star would return to the country where she was welcomed as a hero who had given the nation hope amid hardships.

Keleti died at Budapest Military Hospital, where she was being treated for heart failure and breathing difficulties, on January 2, said the HOC.

She would have turned 104 on January 9 this year.

That is why her friends and family chose that date for a funeral and memorial service, explained Jewish representatives in a statement obtained by Worthy News on Sunday.

“We honor the memory of Ágnes Keleti by celebrating her remarkable life. In addition to her extraordinary sporting achievements, Ágnes Keleti—known by her Hebrew name, Rachel bat Avigdor—was remembered at her funeral held at the Kozma Street Jewish Cemetery [in Budapest] for her modesty, humility, cheerfulness, and zest for life,” said the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz).

A memorial service was led by Tamás Verő, the chief rabbi of Budapest’s Frankel Synagogue, who recounted “a fond memory” from her 103rd birthday celebration, highlighting her strong yet kind demeanor: “When I raised my hand for a rabbinical blessing, Aunt Ági gently reminded me not to ruffle her hair. She embodied a balance of toughness and humor, strictness and humanity.”

HUMILITY REMEMBERED

He noticed that “her humility and directness” were even more profound than her sporting successes. “Jewish tradition asks, ‘Who is a respectable person?’ The answer remains unchanged: one who respects others. Ágnes Keleti exemplified this every day of her life.”

Yael Arad, president of the Israeli Olympic Committee, shared personal reflections on Ágnes, recalling their first meeting on a beach in Israel. She said she was struck by seeing an elderly, slim woman of short stature, training with “unmatched professionalism” and with “back muscles I had not seen before”.

Later, she personally became convinced that Ágnes Keleti was “a tough, perfectionist woman whose personality was shaped by the Holocaust and Eastern Europe. Later, as the head of the Sports Committee, I had the privilege to nominate Ágnes for the prestigious Israel Prize, an honor awarded when Ágnes was 97.”

Yet she also drew attention “to the hostages still being held by Hamas terrorists” expressing “our shared hope that they will be released as soon as possible” to live out the dreams personified by Ágnes Keleti.

Perhaps the most heartfelt tribute came from the late athlete’s son, Rafael Biro Keleti, who recounted the joyous, laughter-filled moments they shared. He revealed lesser-known facets of her life, from her culinary passions to her interest in astronomy and philosophy. Her son added that his mother knew how to surprise him and, even at ninety, was able to board a plane to visit him in New York or Paris.

He recalled her surprising the guests of a tapas bar in Spain “by demonstrating a straddle split and taking selfies with the waiters, even in her nineties.” Rafael expressed his gratitude: “Dear mom, I thank you for everything and bless the Creator that I could grow up as your son! ”

The ceremony, attended by hundreds, saw tributes from prominent figures such as Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, former President Pál Schmitt, once a Hungarian Olympic fencer himself, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had a wreath sent to be laid at her grave.

“As we bid her farewell on what would have been her 104th birthday, we are reminded of her unwavering strength and perseverance, noted Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, reflecting on her life as a constant struggle against the tides of history, from which she emerged victorious. “She was more than an athlete; she was a testament to never giving up the fight.”

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