Reflecting on her Olympic experience, Alev Kelter ‘overwhelmed with the amount of love and support’ from Alaskans

PARIS — The moment an Olympic bronze medal was put around the neck of Eagle River’s Alev Kelter, she did not immediately pause to take a close look at her precious hardware like most athletes.

Instead, her gaze went straight to a support section of about 30 family members who had traveled from Alaska to the famed Stade de France to support her and the U.S. national rugby team, known as the Women Eagles.

“All I could see was every single one of them cheering so loud. I was nervous they were going to fall out of that box,” said Kelter, who began playing rugby 11 years ago after growing up focused on hockey and soccer. “I was just so grateful. After three Olympics, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with joy. The third time was the charm. This team is so special, I just tried to soak up that very moment, I think I was in tears, for sure.”

[Alaska’s Alev Kelter and Team USA women’s rugby team take bronze in stunning win over Australia]

From the moment she arrived in the City of Lights, the 33-year-old Kelter’s visit has been nothing but special moment after special moment.

It started with the opening ceremony. The team made a group decision to not participate, and stay off the Team USA boat that cruised down the Seine, feeling that rest was more important because just a day later, their competition would begin. Instead, she got together with her family at the house they rented in Paris and watched it start to finish. She said that allowed her to see the full “stunning” spectacle of all the performances, including from Celine Dion, which would not have been possible on the boat.

“It was also a good moment for me to connect with my family who had just gotten into town,” she said. “They’re my inspiration, and they’re the reason why I’m still playing rugby. It’s because their support is through the roof. I was just grateful to spend some time with them.”

She also was able to appreciate life in the athletes’ village much more than in her previous two Olympic trips. The first time, in Rio in 2016, she said she had “a bit of imposter syndrome” and was too wide-eyed and “in awe” of everything to really enjoy and appreciate it. Then, the COVID-19 dynamic in Tokyo meant that everything was kept within a tightly controlled bubble. In Paris, she explained, she could savor everything — especially the chance to get out to the great pastry and coffee shops with her teammates. At the same time, she knew exactly how to do it all in moderation to stay fresh for her competition.

“The experiences are the same (as Rio and Tokyo),” she said. “It’s still extremely stimulating. There are distractions at every corner, bright shiny lights at every corner. You are making constant decisions to make sure you balance enjoying everything and getting proper rest.”

[Rugby sevens wins over Olympic crowds and U.S. women’s team wants to build on bronze for L.A.]

That balance was one of the reasons why she performed so well in the tournament. After helping the team easily defeat Japan 36-7 in their opener, she had a play in the second game against Brazil that went viral on social media. She stiff-armed Thalia Costa, which keyed a strong sprint to score a try in the team’s 24-5 win.

“I know Costa is faster than me, she’s one of the fastest on the circuit,” Kelter said.

At 5-foot-7 and 168 pounds, Kelter’s position on the team is prop, generally the strongest player on the squad, who needs to be powerful enough to move a scrum of other players. She said that play was fairly standard for her. But in a game mostly dominated by men, it was great for a large Olympic audience to see a woman make a dynamic physical play.

“Yeah, it’s cool to celebrate that, even if in this day and age, people are learning for the first time that women are badasses. That (kind of play) happens for me probably every tournament, but for the first time, the world got to see it on a main stage. And I’m very grateful.”

Their next game against France may have been a loss, but with 70,000 loud fans packing the stadium, it was still a highlight for her — a powerful moment for women’s sport, she said, and an opportunity for women rugby players to have their own marquee event separate from the men.

That was followed by a quarterfinal win over Great Britain — revenge from a quarterfinal loss in Tokyo. And while they lost to the world’s top team, New Zealand, in the semifinals, they were competitive and took a lot of confidence into the bronze-medal game against Australia — where Kelter scored her second try of the tournament, accounting for half of Team USA’s points in a stunning 14-12 come-from-behind win.

“Lo (Ilona Maher) said: ‘Kelter, do your thing.’ So, she pulled me from the scrum and I went back into the center role, which is where I’m most familiar after playing it for about 10 years. I just had a quick evasive step, a little stiff arm, and then finished close to the sticks, which provided a great conversion.”

With her medal in hand — and with a tattoo of the Olympic rings to come sometime in the next two months on “prime real estate” that she says she has been saving on her forearm — her time in Paris is far from done. Now, the fine arts grad from the University of Wisconsin can take full advantage of being in an arts mecca for the next week.

On Thursday, she had the personal thrill of “nerding out” at the Paris Museum of Modern Art, followed by time at some spectacular outdoor sculptures, with the day capped by a special treat for her family.

“I hired a private chef for them to have a four-course meal, where they can see him prepping, and they can really enjoy the art of cooking,” she said. “This whole week has been the art of rugby. And everyone has come to support me and now I get to turn around and say thanks to my family and show them the arts of Paris.”

As for everyone back in Alaska who could not be with her, their time for receiving a thank you will come sometime soon too.

“I’m excited to get back and do some rugby camps, and some meet-and-greets, and see everyone that has supported me because my phone has absolutely blown up, and it was all from Alaskans — friends and neighbors and past teachers. I’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of love and support that I have had. It’s on my bucket list to go back and share this with my village and our people.”

After that, her focus will shift to the traditional 15s version of rugby and the World Cup in England next year. Then she will begin getting ready for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.

“My goal will be to help put the USA on home soil into gold medal contention,” she said. “And that’s going to be a dream come true.”

Ed Klajman is a Canadian freelance sportswriter. He is reporting from Paris for Anchorage Daily News as well as other news organizations.