A Hungarian Olympic gold medallist and anti-vax conspiracy theorist has died of Covid-19 at the age of 51, weeks after getting the jab to continue his work as a coach.
Szilveszter Csollany fell sick in December and was hospitalised and placed on a ventilator for weeks, with local authorities announcing his death on Monday.
While Csollany had shared several 'anti-vax' posts on his Facebook page - some of which were also anti-Semitic - he had been vaccinated in order to work as a gymnastics coach, Budapest newspaper Blikk reported at the start of January.
Hungary's 2000 Olympics gold medal winning gymnast Szilveszter Csollany (pictured left and right holding his gold medal on the podium in Sydney, September 24, 2000) has died of Covid-19 aged 51, local authorities said on Monday
However, the publication said that it had been shortly before he fell ill which had not allowed him to develop a sufficient level of antibodies.
'It is with profound sadness that we inform you of the death of Szilveszter Csollany,' said the Hungarian Olympic Committee.
Csollany took a silver medal on the rings at the Atlanta Games in 1996, going one better in Sydney four years later when he saw off Greece's Dimosthenis Tampakos and the Bulgarian Yordan Yovchev to take the gold.
European champion in 1998, he also won gold at the 2002 World Championships in Debrecen.
'The Olympic champion gymnast achieved outstanding results not only as an athlete, but also an excellent husband and a very good father,' the Hungarian Gymnastics Federation said.
After retiring, Csollany went on to work as a coach in both Iceland and Austria.
'Farewell champion', wrote Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in a message accompanied by a black and white photo.
Fellow gymnast Zoltan Magyar, a Hungarian Olympic champion in 1976 and 1980, lamented 'a huge loss, at such a young age'.
Csollany's last post of Facebook - on August 10 - showed the medallist speaking to a medical professional on the phone about the vaccine.
In the caption below, he wrote: 'I just want to understand! I'm not against or in favor of vaccine.... really don't know what's good ... and this video shows exactly why I don't know.
Pictured: Szilveszter Csollany (second-right) with his wife Jutka and her two children. According to
