Ágnes Keleti
Encyclopedia
Ágnes Keleti is a retired Hungarian artistic gymnast
. The winner of 10 Olympic medals including five gold medals, she is considered to be one of the most successful Jewish
Olympic athletes of all time. She was the most successful athlete at the 1956 Summer Olympics
.
, Hungary
. She began 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.
Keleti was considered to be a top prospect for the Hungarian team at the 1940 Olympics, but the escalation of World War II
canceled both the 1940 and the 1944 Games. A member of the Jewish faith, Keleti was forced to go into hiding to survive the war. She purchased working papers and posed as a Christian maid in a village in the Hungarian countryside. Her father died in Auschwitz, and her mother and sister went into hiding, saved by Raoul Wallenberg
. They were later discovered and sent to a concentration camp
, but survived and were reunited with Keleti after the war.
After the war, Keleti resumed training. She qualified for the 1948 Summer Olympics
, but was forced to miss the competition due to injury. She continued training and finally competed at the Olympics for the first time at the age of 31 at the 1952 Games
. She earned four medals, including gold on the floor exercise and 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 placed first on the uneven bars.
At the 1956 Summer Olympics
in Melbourne
, Keleti won gold medals in three of the four individual event finals: floor, bars, and balance beam and placed second in the all-around. 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.
During the 1956 Olympics, the Soviet Union
invaded Hungary. Keleti, along with 44 other athletes from the Hungarian delegation, decided to remain in Australia and received political asylum. Keleti emigrated to Israel
in 1957, and was able to send for her mother and sister.
In 1959 Keleti married Robert Biro, a Hungarian physical education teacher whom she met in Israel. The couple have two sons: Daniel (b. 1963) and Rafael (b. 1964).
Following her retirement from competition, Keleti worked as a physical education instructor at the University of Tel Aviv and the Wingate Institute
for Sport in Netanya
. She also coached and worked with Israel's national gymnastics team well into the 1990s.
Keleti was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the Hungarian Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, and the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
in 2002.
Artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics where gymnasts perform short routines on different apparatus, with less time for vaulting . The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique , which designs the Code of Points and regulates all aspects of international elite...
. The winner of 10 Olympic medals including five gold medals, she is considered to be one of the most successful Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
Olympic athletes of all time. She was the most successful athlete at the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
.
Career
Keleti is Jewish, and was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. She began gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
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.
Keleti was considered to be a top prospect for the Hungarian team at the 1940 Olympics, but the escalation of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
canceled both the 1940 and the 1944 Games. A member of the Jewish faith, Keleti was forced to go into hiding to survive the war. She purchased working papers and posed as a Christian maid in a village in the Hungarian countryside. Her father died in Auschwitz, and her mother and sister went into hiding, saved by Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
. They were later discovered and sent to a concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
, but survived and were reunited with Keleti after the war.
After the war, Keleti resumed training. She qualified for the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
, but was forced to miss the competition due to injury. She continued training and finally competed at the Olympics for the first time at the age of 31 at the 1952 Games
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...
. She earned four medals, including gold on the floor exercise and 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
1954 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 13th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Rome, the capital of Italy, on June 28 - July 1, 1954.-Medals:- All-around :- Floor exercise :- Pommel horse :- Rings :- Vault :- Parallel bars :- Horizontal bar :...
, where she placed first on the uneven bars.
At the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Keleti won gold medals in three of the four individual event finals: floor, bars, and balance beam and placed second in the all-around. 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.
During the 1956 Olympics, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invaded Hungary. Keleti, along with 44 other athletes from the Hungarian delegation, decided to remain in Australia and received political asylum. Keleti emigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1957, and was able to send for her mother and sister.
In 1959 Keleti married Robert Biro, a Hungarian physical education teacher whom she met in Israel. The couple have two sons: Daniel (b. 1963) and Rafael (b. 1964).
Following her retirement from competition, Keleti worked as a physical education instructor at the University of Tel Aviv and the Wingate Institute
Wingate Institute
The Wingate Institute is a sports training facility located south of Netanya, Israel, established in 1957. Named after Orde Wingate, the facility serves as the host facility for numerous Israeli national teams as well as a military training base....
for Sport in Netanya
Netanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
. She also coached and worked with Israel's national gymnastics team well into the 1990s.
Keleti was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the Hungarian Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, and the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics....
in 2002.
See also
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
- List of Eastern Bloc defectors
- List of select Jewish gymnasts