Alaskans shine at Olympics, including Eagle River’s Alev Kelter in rugby sevens bronze win

Three-time Olympian Alev Kelter of Eagle River held a skills campy for younker 13-19 astatine nan Delaney Park Strip connected Thursday evening, Aug. 3, 2023. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Alaska tends to beryllium location to much wintertime Olympians than summer, but location are 2 Alaskans competing for Team USA astatine nan summertime games successful Paris and different connected nan South Sudanese team.

One is Eagle River’s Alev Kelter, a halfway connected nan U.S. rugby sevens team, who on Tuesday won a bronze medal, defeating an Australian squad arsenic clip ran retired successful nan match. Also competing successful Paris is Kristen Faulkner, a Homer cyclist whose roadworthy title and squad pursuit events are this play and early adjacent week.

Then there’s JT Thor, who grew up successful Anchorage and plays hoops for South Sudan, nan youngest state connected Earth, making a people successful its first Olympics.

Back present successful Alaska, Anchorage Daily News sports newsman Josh Reed has been pursuing nan Alaska Olympians and penning profiles connected them, starting pinch rugby prima Alev Kelter.

Listen:

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This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Josh Reed: (Alev Kelter) grew up successful Eagle River, went to precocious schoolhouse astatine Chugiak, didn’t play rugby increasing up astatine all. So she was a shot subordinate and a lucky subordinate increasing up, and that’s what she did successful college, too, astatine Wisconsin, her and her copy sister. She didn’t observe rugby until aft assemblage erstwhile she was trying to make nan Olympic squad for hockey. And past erstwhile she didn’t make nan trim there, she benignant of conscionable wondered, “Well, wherever do I spell from here?” And past 1 of her coaches suggested to her that she, you know, springiness rugby a try. And past 2 years later, she’s successful nan Rio Olympics for rugby. So that was her first clip around, successful 2016, and, you know, now she’s on, this is her 3rd clip going to nan Olympics.

Casey Grove: You talked to her astir what it meant to her to travel from Alaska and to be, you know, connected this world stage. What did she show you astir that? I mean, like, what, you know, from Alaska benignant of helped her connected that journey?

JR: So being from Alaska, truthful she said, “Being Alaskan taught maine what it was to beryllium a squad player,” and everything she knows astir what she became arsenic a rugby player, she learned from being Alaskan. You know, I was calved and raised present myself to wherever you, particularly if you unrecorded successful much agrarian communities, group person to travel together to support each other, right? Because you’re not gonna make it done these acold winters by yourself. So everything she learned astir about being a squad player, astir being a leader about, you know, being who she was, she learned from being Alaskan. And that’s what she took a batch of pridefulness in, not conscionable representing her country, but her location authorities arsenic well.

CG: Yeah, and I deliberation successful your story, too, she said it’s like, that’s her identity, right? People telephone her “the Alaskan.” And, you know, now she’s capable to bent this bronze badge astir her neck. And that was an breathtaking match. They went into this bronze badge lucifer pinch Australia, right? And tin you tin you benignant of picture really they pulled that retired astatine nan end, to triumph nan bronze medal?

JR: This is fundamentally balanced to a Hail Mary successful football, aliases possibly not moreover a Hail Mary, but like, 1 of those pitchy-pitchy woo-woo benignant of things, a past ditch effort. It was a scrum, and nan personification who was carrying nan shot refused to spell down. And I conjecture they thought it was over, and she busted done and conscionable took off. And that technically tied nan game. That tied nan match, truthful it didn’t needfully triumph it for them. That’s why, they’re celebrating, but their coach was like, “Hey, calm down, we was still gotta get nan other kick, nan footwear for nan 2 points to triumph it.”

And anterior to that point, Alev had nan only points for them of nan game. They weren’t needfully expected to triumph aft being down. But to person that happen, that play, for illustration nan balanced for illustration a Hail Mary aliases thing successful football, that was a beautiful breathtaking measurement to triumph nan match. And I’m beautiful judge Australia was stunned and devastated astatine nan aforesaid time. But it was a awesome measurement for nan American (rugby sevens) squad to triumph its first Olympic badge ever. So that was great.

CG: And it’s interesting, you said Alev had nan only points up to that constituent successful nan game, truthful it’s 1 of those things where, like, there’s nan crippled winner, but if you didn’t people nan effort earlier that, you’re not successful contention astatine all, right?

JR: Exactly.

CG: So, yeah, I wanted to talk to you astir different jock pinch really beardown ties to Alaska and to Anchorage, but he’s not connected Team USA, and that’s JT Thor. He’s a subordinate connected nan South Sudanese hoops team. And moreover earlier nan Olympics, location were accumulation games that that squad was playing, different Olympic hoops teams were playing, benignant of getting fresh for nan Olympics. And they made immoderate large news successful that accumulation crippled against Team USA, right?

JR: Yeah, he’s a kid that, you know, grew up successful Alaska for astir of his adolescence from, like, property 5 till astir he was for illustration 14 aliases 15 erstwhile he moved distant to proceed his prep profession elsewhere successful nan Lower 48, to get a assemblage scholarship. But yeah, truthful he was calved successful Omaha, Nebraska. That’s wherever his parents, his parents immigrated (to) erstwhile they near what was formerly Sudan, now South Sudan. And truthful a batch of group from from South Sudan migrated to nan United States. You know, location was a immense contingent of them that migrated to Alaska. JT’s parents weren’t portion of that, (but) they yet came up here. He had immoderate different family that was already up here, his relative Goy, he’s complete location pinch him correct now successful Paris.

But yeah, nan South Sudanese team, they gave Team USA each they could grip and past immoderate and that accumulation match. JT really deed what was almost a crippled winner. So he had he had for illustration a three-pointer pinch for illustration 3 seconds near successful nan crippled to springiness them for illustration a 1 constituent lead. Unfortunately, you know, LeBron James did LeBron James things and seashore to seashore and gave Team USA nan winning bucket successful nan end. But it’s nan truth that they were capable to push that prima -tudded group of Steph Curry, LeBron James, you know, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, each these good known, champion players successful nan world. Team USA is projected, you know, to triumph it all. And nan truth this South Sudanese team, moreover though it was an exhibition, they were capable to push that squad and only suffer by a fistful of points, was very awesome and benignant of gave them assurance heading into, you know, nan excavation play. And past they sewage their first Olympic triumph against Puerto Rico earlier this week.

CG: So then, I wanted to inquire you, too, there’s a cyclist connected Team USA from Homer, and her sanction is Kristen Faulkner, and she’s a roadworthy cyclist. What events aliases events is she competing in? And are those coming up still?

JR: Yeah, truthful she mightiness beryllium competing successful 3 events, but arsenic of correct now she’s committed to two, which are happening connected (August) 6th and 7th, adjacent week. She whitethorn beryllium competing successful her first arena connected Sunday, which is nan 4th, but she hasn’t committed to that 1 yet. But, I mean, she’ll decidedly tin beryllium competing successful 2 events adjacent week.