Team USA figure skater Amber Glenn entered the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as one of the most heavily favored competitors in the women’s singles field.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, her Olympic debut turned into a heartbreak watched by a packed arena in Milan.
Glenn, a 26-year-old Texas native and three-time reigning U.S. figure skating champion, took to the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena for the women’s short program.
She skated to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and was second to last in the start order among the 29 competing skaters.
Her routine opened with a clean triple axel — one of the most technically demanding jumps in women’s figure skating and a move performed by only one other skater in the competition that night.
The strong opening gave the crowd hope.
Spectators erupted with loud cheers after she nailed the jump and appeared set to build momentum through the rest of her program.
However, the routine unraveled near the end. Glenn landed a double loop where the required triple loop was called for, a miss that cost her seven technical points and earned her a zero in that scoring category.
She left the ice in tears and put her head in her hands after receiving a score of 67.39, as a hush briefly came over the packed crowd.
Glenn skated over to her coaches after exiting the rink and embraced them while visibly emotional.
The tears continued to flow in the kiss-and-cry area after she received her final score.
“I did the hard stuff, so I was just in shock,” a visibly rattled Glenn told NBC immediately after. When asked what happened on that last jump, she said she “just lost focus, wasn’t feeling good.”
The final score of 67.39 placed Glenn in 13th position after the short program concluded.
The seven-point deduction from that single missed element made medal contention in Thursday’s free skate “extremely difficult,” according to Sports Illustrated.
Glenn was not the only skater to miss her triple loop, as Canadian Madeline Schizas also offered a double loop rather than a triple, NBC News reported. Unlike Schizas, Glenn still qualified for Thursday’s free skate event.
Japan dominated the top of the leaderboard following the short program.
ESPN said that Ami Nakai, Kaori Sakamoto, and Mone Chiba finished in first, second, and fourth, respectively. Glenn’s Team USA teammate Alysa Liu finished in third place, while Isabeau Levito finished eighth.
Prior to the competition, Glenn drew significant public attention for remarks she made about the LGBTQ+ community and the current administration.
Glenn, who has identified as bisexual and pansexual, stated that the community was going through a difficult period.
“It’s been a hard time for the community overall and this administration,” Glenn said.
“It isn’t the first time that we’ve had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights. And now, especially, it’s not just affecting the queer community, but many other communities.”
Those comments generated backlash online, which Glenn said led her to temporarily suspend her social media activity due to what she described as “hate” directed at her.
After Team USA won gold in the team event last Sunday, Glenn responded to her critics in a TikTok post.
“They hate to see two woke b*tches winning,” she wrote.
“If ‘Woke’ means people who use their platforms to advocate for marginalized communities in the country that they are actively representing…… Then yeah sure?”
Glenn is the first openly LGBTQ+ U.S. women’s figure skating champion.
She is scheduled to return to the ice Thursday for the free skate, where the final medal standings in the women’s singles event will be determined.
