Leyla Alev Kelter ( ; born March 21, 1991) is an American

rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. She competed for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. She also represented the

at the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the Rugby World Cup (women), women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally sche ...

Rugby career

She won a silver medal at the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

as a member of the

United States women's national rugby sevens team The United States women's national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The team finished second at the 2015 USA Women's Sevens, after defeating Russia in the semifinals. They have competed at three Summ ...

. She also made the squad at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Kelter was named in the Eagles squad to the

2017 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup was the eighth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in Ireland in August 2017. New Zealand became the 2017 champions by beating England 41–32 in the final on 26 August. Matches were held in Du ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In January 2022 the English rugby side

Saracens Women Saracens Women () are an English women's rugby union club based in Hendon, London. They were established in 1989 and currently play in Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR), the top level of competition of women's rugby in the country. Saracens a ...

announced that they had signed her for the rest of the 2021–22 Premier 15s season. She was named in the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

squad for the

2022 Pacific Four Series The 2022 Pacific Four Series was the second edition of the Pacific Four Series. The competition was hosted by New Zealand from 6 to 18 June. Matches were played at two of the venues which hosted the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup – The Trusts Ar ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She was selected in the Eagles squad for the

. She has also played for the Northern Loonies in Premier Rugby Sevens, and was part of the 2021 Inaugural Championship team and the 2023 Women's Championship. She won the Finals MVP in 2023. She signed with English club,

Loughborough Lightning Loughborough Lightning may refer to one of three women's sports teams based at Loughborough University: * Loughborough Lightning (netball) * Loughborough Lightning (cricket) * Loughborough Lightning (rugby union) {{disambiguation ...

, for the 2024–25 Premiership Women's Rugby season. Kelter won a bronze medal in rugby sevens at the

. On February 18, 2025, it was announced that the Bay Breakers had signed her for the inaugural season of the Women's Elite Rugby competition. She scored a try in the closely contested

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on 26 April 2025, the Eagles lost the game 33–39. On May 17, 2025, in the United States' match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

2025 Pacific Four Series The 2025 Pacific Four Series was the fifth edition of the Pacific Four Series, an international women's rugby union tournament. Matches took place from the 3 to 24 May over two continents and provided all four teams with important preparation ahe ...

, Kelter received a red card in the 79th minute for an illegal act on the field. Whilst being tackled by Australian player Georgina Friedrichs, Kelter stamped several times on her head. Kelter was given a straight red card by referee Aimee Barrett-Theron, whom described her actions as "thuggery". Former Australia men's centre

Morgan Turinui Morgan Turinui (born 5 January 1982 in Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Au ...

said her actions were "disgusting". Kelter received a three-match sanction from

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

, which was reduced from six matches, with World Rugby's Independent Disciplinary Committee stating: "Taking all considerations into account, including the player’s disciplinary record, early acknowledgment of foul play and her clear remorse, the Disciplinary Committee determined that full mitigation was appropriate, resulting in a final sanction of three matches."

Soccer and Ice hockey

Kelter played for the United States women's national under-16 soccer team and the

United States women's national under-18 ice hockey team The United States women's national under-18 ice hockey team represents the United States at the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship. Competitive record IIHF U18 Women's World Championship The United States has won a medal in every IIHF U18 Women ...

and later played both sports at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

from 2009 to 2013. In 2014, she almost made her Olympic debut at the Winter Games but unfortunately was one of the last cut for that team.

Personal life

Born to Mark Perusse and Leyla Kelter, she has two brothers, Erol and Aydin and a twin sister, Derya, who also played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

. Before she was nine, her family had moved four times because her parents were in the military. Kelter was raised in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and was the first woman to play boys' varsity high school ice hockey. She also played for the U23 USA soccer team and U18 USA ice hockey team. Kelter attended

Chugiak High School Chugiak High School is a public high school located in Chugiak, Anchorage, Chugiak, Anchorage, Alaska, and a part of the Anchorage School District. Chugiak's mascot is the Mustang and the school colors are blue, black, and white. In 2005, Chugia ...

in Chugiak, Alaska. She graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from

in 2015. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kelter got engaged to her partner, fellow rugby player

Kathryn Treder Kathryn Treder (born March 17, 1996) is an American rugby union player. She has been a hooker and flanker for the United States national women's rugby union team since 2019 and represented the United States in the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zea ...

References

External links

*
Alev Kelter
at

USA Rugby USA Rugby (formally the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby ...

archive July 20, 2021
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelter, Alev 1991 births Living people United States international rugby sevens players Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey players Wisconsin Badgers women's soccer players American women's ice hockey defensemen American women's soccer players Soccer players from Alaska Ice hockey people from Anchorage, Alaska Sportspeople from Anchorage, Alaska United States women's international rugby union players American female rugby union players American female rugby sevens players American twins Women's association football midfielders Rugby sevens players at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in rugby sevens 21st-century American sportswomen American expatriate rugby union players in England Saracens Women rugby players Rugby union centres Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rugby sevens players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Rugby sevens players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics American LGBTQ sportswomen American LGBTQ rugby union players United States women's youth international soccer players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in rugby sevens Loughborough Lightning rugby union players