98-year-old Hungarian Olympic and world champion still exercises 3-4 hours a day

On Sunday, Gábor Benedek became the world’s oldest living Olympic champion. The former pentathlete, who also won a world championship, now lives in Germany but often returns home to visit the places of his youth, including Csepel, where he trained for many years, while his brother worked as a coach.

Hungary’s oldest living Olympic champion once again

According to the Hungarian News Agency (MTI), Gábor Benedek enjoys good health and still covers long distances on foot. He is the oldest living Olympic gold medallist following the death of Nikita Simonyan. Benedek was also the first Hungarian to win Olympic and world titles in modern pentathlon.

MTI reached Benedek at his home in Germany by phone after lunch, just before his afternoon rest. He was a member of Hungary’s first Olympic gold-winning modern pentathlon team (1952) and became the country’s first individual world champion in the sport (1953). Interestingly, he was unaware that he had become the oldest living Olympic gold medallist. When congratulated as the oldest living Olympic champion, he replied: “That’s not me, there’s a Russian who is older.”

When he learned of Simonyan’s passing on Sunday, he responded: “Is that so? Well, things like that happen, and I will die one day too.”

Earlier this year, Ágnes Keleti was the oldest living Olympic champion until she passed away just before her 104th birthday. After her, a French and a Russian Olympian held the title until Gábor Benedek inherited it on Sunday.