Key Links:

• Alev Kelter Website
• Twitter: @kelteralev
• Instagram: @alevkelter

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Few athletes are talented enough to play Division 1 sports, and even fewer are able to compete at that level in more than one. But Alev Kelter isn’t your average athlete. At age 14 this Alaskan native was simultaneously playing Olympic Development soccer and National League Ice Hockey. She, along with her equally talented twin sister, were recruited to play both sports at the University of Wisconsin where she also managed to juggle a studio art degree.

But her dreams of competing in back to back summer and winter Olympics came crashing down when she was not invited to the Olympic training camp for ice hockey, despite being a member of and captaining a World Champion U18 team for the previous two years. Crushed, she retreated to Alaska, to her family, and to the mountains.

Ultimately, Alev was faced with the ways she defined herself by her success rather than her inherent value. In the wake of hanging up her skates, she was invited by the coach of USA Women’s Rugby to attend a training camp. With no experience, she joined other crossover athletes and went on to compete internationally for two years before living her dream of representing the USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Alev continues to compete internationally and has her sights set on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Learn more here: https://www.hopesports.org/the-way-you-define-yourself

For more about our host, visit www.laurawilkinson.com and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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