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Triple threat Alev Kelter on Loughborough Lightning and her ice hockey background
Loughborough Lightning's Alev Kelter is a triple threat like no other on the rugby pitch.
With a background steeped in ice hockey and football, Kelter unexpectedly joined the world of rugby 10 years ago and hasn't looked back since.
The centre, who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, now has three Olympic Games and two World Cups under her belt, including a bronze medal at Paris 2024, as she returns to Premiership Women's Rugby for the 2024/25 season.
Known for her lightning fast footwork and breaks, the 33-year-old has credited her transferable skills from the ice and football pitch as the key to her success.
"Being able to do lateral movement is so important to be evasive on the pitch," she said. "When someone would usually just drop their head and go through, we see a different space and it's more fluid.
"Once you make those breaks, you can look for the offload to keep the ball alive and in continuity.
"Ice hockey and soccer have helped a lot in that. That lateral ability combined with being able to kick through unlocks another level of being a triple threat."
Kelter's ice hockey skills are so strong, she almost made her Olympic debut on the ice at Sochi 2014.
Sadly, cut from the roster at the final hurdle, Kelter speaks of the time as a painful memory as she struggled to overcome the fact she would not be going to the Olympics. But what she lost in ice hockey, she quickly found unexpectedly in the sport of rugby.
"I really wish I had found rugby sooner and that's why we need to grow it in America," she said.
"Hockey and soccer where my two loves and I played them both at Division One level at the University of Wisconsin which is, not unheard of, but very rare to do two D1 sports and it was because I was in love with both.
"After college, I had an opportunity to play for the Olympic ice hockey team and was gearing up for Sochi in 2014 but unfortunately I was one of the last cut for that team.
"A 'no' at that time of my life in my late teens was really difficult and I struggled with my self-worth and whether I had failed."
It was at that moment that Kelter received a call from the head coach of the USA Women's Rugby Sevens Olympic team, Ric Suggitt, who led Kelter down the path of a brand-new sport.
Just two years later, she would finally make her Olympic debut as part of the sevens team, going on to compete at a further two Games and win a maiden bronze this summer at Paris 2024.
"In that moment of doubt about what I was doing, was when I had the phone call from Ric about rugby," she said.
"I had never touched a rugby ball, but I quickly realised I was defined by this new purpose, to use my gifts and give back through rugby and not be afraid.
"That's when I realised that sport can be family because the camaraderie of rugby was shown through the players who were willing to teach me the game so beautifully.
"Ric wanted the team to believe in one another and build each other up, and that's how we would beat the best teams."
It's clear that camaraderie is a key aspect of what Kelter looks for in sport, and with her recent move back to the PWR, having previously helped Saracens to the Premier 15s title in 2022, she has found a new sporting family in Loughborough Lightning.
It is a family that feels distinctively like home for Kelter, who is one of four Americans on the team, including her fiancee and fellow Paris 2024 bronze medallist Kathryn Treder.
And it is a family she is thrilled to have ahead of her possible third World Cup next year, in which she hopes to inspire a new generation of rugby players in the US.
"It's an honour to be on Lightning," she said. "We have an amazing team and we've been building. For me it's not just about the rugby, it's about investing and giving my heart and soul to the team.
"To see the enthusiasm from the younger players and the commitment and chemistry on the pitch is great. We just now need to get back on the pitch with clarity and intensity.
"We have more Americans coming over to the league because it's the best in the world and we want to grow.
"We're excited to one day create something like this in America so we don't have to leave our homes and can give back there. But for right now we want to get ready for the World Cup here."
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