Before Aly Raisman, there was Holocaust survivor Agnes Keleti. Keleti was born in Hungary, where she began gymnastics at age 4. She was supposed to compete in the 1940 and 1944 Olympics, but because of World War II, they were canceled. As a result, she went into hiding to survive–although many of her family members were killed in Auschwitz.
Due to an injury, she was unable to compete in the 1948 Olympics, and didn’t compete until the 1952 games at age 31–where she won four medals. Then, in the 1956 Olympics at age 35, Keleti became the oldest female gymnast ever to win gold. She still practices gymnastics to this day.
Watch our short video below to learn more about her:
Can we ask?
It's important to us to keep the warm, joyfully Jewish community on Kveller accessible for all. Reader donations help us do just that. Can you spare a few to keep Kveller free? (We'll love you forever.)