Legendary 103-year-old Hungarian-Israeli gymnast Keleti passes away

Hungarian-born Israeli gymnast Agnes Keleti passed away on Thursday at the age of 103 due to heart failure. Keleti, who was known as the “mother of Israeli gymnastics," was considered to be one of the greatest Jewish athletes of all time.

Keleti’s life is an inspiring story of success against all odds.

Born in Hungary in 1921, Keleti began training in gymnastics at the age of 4 and became a Hungarian champion by age 16. She survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary by hiding her Jewish identity and changing her name to Juhász Piróska. She presented herself as an ethnic Hungarian woman by entering a fictitious marriage with a Hungarian gymnast.

Most of Keleti's family members were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. After World War II, she won an impressive 10 Olympic medals, including five gold while representing Hungary at the Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland in 1952 and Melbourne, Australia in 1956. These achievements made her the most successful female Jewish gymnast in history.

Keleti moved to Israel in 1957 after participating as an athlete at the Maccabiah Games, also known as the “Jewish Olympics.”

The legendary athlete played a central role in bringing artistic gymnastics to the young Jewish state.

"I brought parallel bars and other equipment with me – Israel didn’t even know what gymnastics was," Keleti once recalled.

She also played a leading role in training generations of coaches and gymnasts at the Wingate Institute in Netanya, Israel’s leading sports institute.

Keleti narrowly escaped the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, as she was not present at the Israeli delegation’s quarters when PLO-affiliated Black September terrorists carried out the attack, killing 11 Israeli athletes.

In 2017, Keleti was awarded the prominent "Israel Prize" for her important contributions to Israeli sports. She was praised as “a singular, brilliant and groundbreaking woman – a leader and role model.”

The Israeli Olympic Committee mourned the passing of Keleti by praising her as an "icon of excellence."

"Ágnes was a Holocaust survivor who turned pain into strength, faith into achievements and victories that touched thousands of hearts," the committee said in its official statement.

"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,” said Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar.

On Keleti's 100th birthday, the prominent Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci told her she inspired her to excel as a gymnast.

"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," Comaneci said in a video posted on 𝕏. "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."