Alev Kelter is an Olympic medalist who uses sport as a performance art and believes everyone is called to create!

Alev broke into the sport of rugby after completing a dual- sport NCAA D1 career in ice hockey and soccer. Her dynamic background helped make a smooth transition to the rugby pitch.

At age 14, she became the first girl from the state of Alaska to ever be selected to the U.S. Soccer under-14 Olympic Development program national training camp and Girls National Team. She continued to play in the women's national player pool through the under-22 level, playing internationally in Costa Rica, England, and Germany. She led her high school soccer team to a state championship as the league’s leading scorer and was selected to the state All-Tournament Team. Alev was the first female to play on the Chugiak High School boys varsity squad and went on to represent Alaska Hockey at the USA National level as well.

Alev attended University of Wisconsin-Madison with a full Division I scholarship where she played both hockey and soccer. In addition to playing sports, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture and glassblowing. Her passion for creativity and art started from her grandmother, who was a wonderful painter. Her art today uses glass wood and metal to provide functional pieces of art. She believes sport is a performance art and that everyone is capable of creating, they just have to find the right medium

As a college freshman, Alev took her Badger soccer team to the Sweet 16 as a starting center midfielder. Two years later Alev assisted in the game-winning goal against Boston University, warning a NCAA D-1 Women's Hockey National Championship. For her contributions throughout her career, she was recognized with the NCAA All American Academic Athlete Award. Always aware and grateful of her health, it was Alev’s desire to be a student first then an athlete.

During college Alev was invited to play with the full USA National Ice Hockey Team who was training for Sochi 2014. She represented Team USA in Canada, and Minnesota.

As her hopes to participate in the Winter Olympics in Sochi with Women's Hockey waned, the U.S. Women's Olympic Rugby Sevens coach Ric Suggitt invited Alev to come to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista California to try her hand at rugby. Having never played the sport, Alev was welcomed with open arms and attracted to the selflessness of her teammate’s willingness to share their rugby knowledge and pass on the ethos of the game. Alev wanted to push herself outside of her comfort zone and embrace this new culture of rugby where inclusivity and equality were inherent! She first offered a 10-month contract with the national team. Within weeks of moving to Chula Vista, she garnered her first international cap at the Guangzhou Women's Sevens in China.  

In just two short years after Alev has first touched a rugby ball, Team USA earned a qualifying berth for the Rio 2016 Olympics at the NACRA tournament in Cary, North Carolina. Alev was the top scorer of the tournament.

Alev was the number one scorer for Team USA in Rio 2016, as well as the first American woman to ever score a Try in the Olympic games. 

She Captained the USA Women’s Rugby 7’s Team in 2018-2019 and is the World’s leading point scorer in 2020. Since her debut in 2014, Alev has not missed an international tournament -making her the most capped 7’s (USA internal matches played) American female rugby player to date.

She has been acknowledged on the international stage as a force to be reckoned with including several HSBC “Dream Teams” (voted among the 7 top players in World Series).

Alev continued her dreams to push the jersey forward, give back, play at the highest level. After a few months out for neck surgery, Alev made a stunning return to make her second Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. Although Team USA went undefeated in pool play, the Eagle’s fell short finishing in 6th place.

Alev believed her Olympic journeys wasn’t over but took a small transition across the pond to the English Premier League in 2021- 2022. In North London she suited up for the Saracens and help them win the League Championship, where Alev was named to the All-Tournament Dream Team. She is the first and only American to win an English Premier title.

Alev returned to the USA 7’s Residency in Chula Vista CA, and helped the USA Eagles qualify, through the HSBC World Series 2022-2024, for the next Olympic games in Paris, France 2024.

In June 2024, Alev was named to her third Olympic Games and was so honored to have another chance to represent her country, family, and friends on the world’s biggest stage. The USA Eagles made an historic, nail-biting finish, to beat the Olympic favorites Australia, for bronze! Alev played a pivotal role in Paris as the leading point scorer for the USA.

Alev is currently playing in the English Premier League for the Loughborough Lightning. She is prepping for the 15’s World Cup that will start August of 2025.

She desires to use her platform to ignite, inspire, and unite the next generation of young athletes to fall in love with the process of creating and fulfilling their dreams, while also giving back to the communities. It’s her dream to give back and coach the National Team and help leaders navigate high-performance spaces.