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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games ● Hungarian gymnast Agnes Keleti, 103 and the oldest living Olympic champion, passed away on Thursday (2nd) in Budapest, having been hospitalized with pneumonia last week.
Born in Budapest in 1921, she started in gymnastics as a child and was a prodigy, but World War II changed everything, and being Jewish, had her life threatened.. She, her mother and sister survived with help from Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz and possibly Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, working as a maid with fake identity documents. Her father and other family members were murdered by the Nazis.
In 1946, she won a Hungarian title in the Uneven Bars and was an alternate for the 1948 Olympic Games. She competed in the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games, winning 10 medals, including golds in 1948 on Floor, and 1952 in Beam, Uneven Bars, Floor (tie) and the Team Portable Apparatus. She was, at 35, the oldest gymnastics gold medalist ever, and was also the All-Around and Team silver winner in Melbourne.
She did not return to Hungary, staying in Australia and moving to Israel in 1957, teaching and coaching gymnastics. She returned to Budapest in 2015.
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Per Olympic super-statistician Bill Mallon, crediting Paul Tchir: “The oldest living Olympic gold medalist is now Charles Coste (FRA) in 1948 cycling team pursuit at almost 101 years old.”
● International Paralympic Committee ● A salute to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in the New Year’s message from President Andrew Parsons (BRA):
“The event set a new benchmark for all future Paralympic Games and had a tremendous transformational impact.
“Hosting the Games triggered the French government to invest EUR 1.5 billion into inclusion and accessibility projects, led the City of Paris to spend EUR 125 million improving accessibility, and acted as a catalyst for the Ile de France region to announce plans to make the Paris Metro accessible. …
“Change Starts with Sport, and no other sport event on this planet has such a profound impact on society.”
● Alpine Skiing ● U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin said in an Instagram post on Wednesday (1st) that she is moving toward a return to competition after her 30 November crash in Vermont:
“Making progress over here…I can move and sweat and use my body which is so exciting!
“This next phase of recovery is all about getting my strength and conditioning back as much as possible while working within the limitations of my obliques. Long hours of gym/rehab time but it’s coming along and I’m so happy with that. Hoping to work into some easy turns on snow in the next week or so.
“There’s a little ways to go before I’m ready to truly ski with intensity – from a pain and a fitness perspective—but I am psyched with where we’re at now.”
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French star Cyprien Sarrazin, who crashed on a Downhill training run on the famed Stelvio slope in Bormio (ITA) and had to have surgery to clear a subdural hematoma, is out of intensive care and will return to France on Friday.
He was in a hospital in Sondalo (ITA) and will go to a neurological rehab facility in Lyon to continue his recovery.
● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. and Sweden advanced to the semifinals of the IIHF men’s World Junior Championships in Ottawa (CAN), with wins on Thursday.
The U.S. led Group A at 3-1 (losing in overtime to Finland) and Sweden was 4-0 to win Group B and move on as the top two teams in the playoffs. The Americans stomped Switzerland by 7-2 in the quarterfinals, while the Swedes edged Latvia, 3-2.
The winner between Canada and the Czech Republic will face Sweden, while the U.S. gets the Finland-Slovakia winner.
The semis will be on Saturday and the final on Sunday.
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