Agnes Keleti, world's oldest living Olympic gold medalist, dies at 103

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) — The oldest living Olympic champion Agnes Keleti died Thursday at the age of 103, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed on Thursday.

"A ligament injury dashed Keleti's hopes of competing at London 1948, so it was at the Helsinki 1952 Games that the 31-year-old made her debut, coming away with one gold medal, a silver, and two bronze," the IOC said in a statement.

"Keleti won a further six Olympic medals at Melbourne 1956, four of which were gold, to become the most successful athlete of the Games," it added.

The former artistic gymnast and 10-time Olympic medalist was hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia on Christmas Day.

Keleti, a five-time Olympic champion, won three Olympic silver and two bronze medals throughout her career and has been hailed as the "most successful competitor in Hungarian gymnastics" by the Hungarian Olympic Committee.

Born to a Jewish family, Keleti, along with her mother and sister, survived the Holocaust during World War II. Her father and other relatives were killed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and she missed two Olympic Games following the outbreak of World War II.

In its message of condolence following her death, the Hungarian Olympic Committee called Keleti the "Athlete of the Nation."

It added, "Rest in peace, Aunt Agi!"