Former Wisconsin Badgers multi-sport athlete wins bronze medal in Olympic rugby

The U.S. women’s rugby team defeated Australia 14-12 in the bronze-medal match at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, capturing the nation’s their first ever rugby sevens medal. Part of the winning squad was former Wisconsin Badgers women’s soccer and women’s hockey player Alev Kelter.

Kelter was a member of the United States women’s national under-16 soccer team and the United States women’s national under-18 ice hockey team prior to arriving in Madison in 2009.

While at Wisconsin, she excelled at both sports for four years, earning All-Big Ten honors in soccer in both 2009 and 2010 while scoring 17 goals in her time as a defender with the women’s hockey team.

Kelter made the switch to rugby after college and she’s appeared the Summer Olympics, the Pan American Games and Women’s Rugby World Cup, amongst other events in her career.

Kelter is just another example of the long list of fantastic athletes who have played for the Badgers and gone on to do spectacular things.