Amber Glenn

Amber Elaine Glenn (born October 28, 1999) is an American figure skater. She is a 2026 Olympic Games team event gold medalist, the 2024–25 Grand Prix Final champion, a three-time U.S. national champion (2024–26), a six-time ISU Grand Prix medalist, and a five-time ISU Challenger Series medalist. She has also finished within the top ten at five ISU Championships.

Early in her career, she won bronze medals at two ISU Junior Grand Prix events (2013 JGP Czech Republic, 2014 JGP France) and was the 2014 U.S. Junior champion. She is the fourth American woman to land a clean triple axel in international competition. Upon her selection for the 2026 Winter Olympics, she became the first openly queer woman to represent the United States in Olympic figure skating. Additionally, at age 26, she was the oldest American woman to qualify for an Olympic singles team since 1928. She also has a younger sister, Brooke. She was homeschooled from the second grade until her senior year of high school.

She has also been open about her struggles with being an elite-level athlete with ADHD. In November 2020, she revealed that she worked with the creative team of the Yuri on Ice film during production in August 2017.

Glenn is a fan of anime and the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. Her dog, Uki, is named after a Magic: The Gathering card. During the 2026 Winter Olympics, Glenn went viral for opening a booster pack during the closing ceremony. Following the Olympics, Glenn received a box of Magic products from Wizards of the Coast and attended the Magic: The Gathering x Marvel launch event.

On May 28, 2026, Glenn was awarded the key to the city by her hometown of Plano, Texas. The city's mayor additionally proclaimed the date as "Amber Glenn Day."

Glenn served as a grand marshal for the 2026 Pikes Peak Pride Parade in Colorado Springs alongside Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. That same month, Glenn teamed up with HBO Max to make a promotional video for Heated Rivalry where she and cosplayer Lena Lemon reenacted scenes from the show as gender swapped versions of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, respectively.

Her mantra is "Believe and Breathe," a phrase that also serves as branding for her merchandise. Her coaches, Ann Brumbaugh and Ben Shroats, described her as a determined, passionate, and athletic skater who at times struggled with perfectionism. By age eleven, Glenn had landed all triple jumps except the axel.

To afford the high costs associated with competitive figure skating, her father, Richard, worked up to 30 hours of overtime per week along with various side jobs, while her mother, Cathlene, worked at the ice rink and served as a nanny for Glenn's coach to receive discounted lessons. The family also reduced costs by purchasing used blades and costumes second-hand through eBay.

Competing in the novice category, Glenn placed second at the 2012 U.S. Championships behind Karen Chen. The next year, Glenn competed at the junior level, placing seventh in the short program and sixth in the free skate for an overall fifth place finish.

Glenn later noted that the expectations following her title win contributed to subsequent challenges with her mental health. This pressure was intensified by the success of the junior champions from the prior two years, Gracie Gold and Polina Edmunds, both of whom had successfully transitioned from their junior success to the 2014 Olympic team.

Ranked fifth in the short program and eighth in the free skate, she finished seventh at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

2014–15 season: Second Junior Grand Prix medal In May 2014, U.S. Figure Skating named Glenn as the recipient of the 2014 Athlete Alumni Ambassador (3A) overall award. With her first international senior assignment at the 2015 Autumn Classic International pending, she decided to leave the facility to attend. She would later describe the event as a "disaster" that she had no memory of beyond her sixth-place finish. With the pandemic restricting international travel, the ISU opted to conduct Grand Prix assignments based mainly on training location. Glenn was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate America. Glenn was the first openly LGBTQ+ U.S. Women's Figure Skating Championship winner. She said that it "has been a long journey to get to this title."

Glenn began the season by winning gold at the 2024 Lombardia Trophy. She set new personal bests in the short program (75.71), free skate (137.18), and overall total (212.89), and successfully landed a triple Axel in both segments of the competition.

At her first Grand Prix event, the 2024 Grand Prix de France, Glenn landed a triple Axel in the short program; her score of 78.14 was the highest ever earned by an American woman. In the free skate, she had several errors, including a botched landing on her triple Axel and a fall on her triple flip jump. Glenn admitted to being nervous going into the free skate and suffering from fatigue and self-doubt.

Later in November, at her second Grand Prix Event, the 2024 Cup of China, Glenn landed a triple Axel in the short program, though it was deemed a quarter turn short, and she stumbled in her jump combination. Despite this, Glenn finished the short program in a narrow second place, just .02 points behind the leader, Mone Chiba. In the free program, she landed eight triple jumps, including a triple Axel, to win the free skate with a personal best score, and she won the competition overall qualifying her for the Grand Prix Final. "Going into the Grand Prix Final I just hope to stay as healthy as possible," she said. "I've accomplished my goal, which was to be consistent throughout this Grand Prix, and I want to continue doing that at the Final."

Glenn competed at the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January. In her short program, she double-footed the landing of her opening triple Axel, then popped her planned triple flip-triple toe loop combination into a triple-double. She finished the segment in third place. She also said, "The scheduling was much different than what I was used to previously. In the past, I'd done the first Grand Prix, the third or fourth, and then didn't have the Final. So, this time doing the third, the sixth, then the Final. Then the holidays, the shows, then getting sick, and then being here." When reflecting on the competition, she stated: "I'm very proud of my mental fortitude and the progress I've made, and I hope to continue the consistency throughout the rest of the season." Glenn's performance was additionally dedicated to her grandmother, who died on February 28. A couple weeks later, Glenn competed at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Following a fall on her triple Axel attempt, Glenn placed ninth in the short program. She went on to deliver a stronger free skate, however, placing fourth in that competition segment and moving up to fifth place overall.

Selected to compete for Team U.S.A. at the 2025 World Team Trophy the following month, Glenn placed seventh in the women's short program after falling on an attempted triple Axel and only performing a triple flip-double toe rather than a triple flip-triple toe. Glenn said that while the event very enjoyable, she found it stressful to remember everything she needed to do. After her free skate, she said, "That showed on Thursday. I was able to rest, and I got some great advice from my teammates, and they were there for me. So today I was able to just go out there and do my job. I think I learned a lot, especially from the two drastically different performances. I've learned what I need to do and what I need to not do." Glenn performing her free skate at the 2026 U.S. Championships Glenn began the season by competing at the 2025 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where she won the gold medal.

The following month, Glenn finished second at 2025 Finlandia Trophy behind Mone Chiba, qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. "Even a year ago, I would have been happy with this result," said Glenn. "Also a year ago, with about the same score, I won in France. It's just a different competition, different people. It's still a decent score... I mean, of course it's hard and a bit disappointing when you've had like four Grand Prix wins in a row, and then to get second—of course that's hard. But I mean, it's not like, 'oh my gosh, I should have been first.' Hell no! Mone was absolutely incredible. She's amazing! Even at my very best, I'm not like she is. So, I knew if I wasn't tip-top perfect and had a miracle happen, I wasn't going to win." After the competition, she said, "I'm still in disbelief. Honestly, the ladies were on fire this competition, and I couldn't be more proud of how far we've come."

On February 8, Glenn took part in the women's free skate portion of the Team Event. She placed third in that segment behind Kaori Sakamoto and Anastasiia Gubanova after stepping out of a planned triple flip, failing to perform a triple-triple combination, and landing her triple Lutz on the quarter. "Obviously, I'm not feeling great about this skate," she shared afterwards. "I am happy I was able to fight through the program and stay committed to everything, but overall there were many, many points left on the table, and I did not perform the way I wanted to. I wasn't more nervous than I usually am. Honestly, I think I was more nervous at Nationals. Physically, I just didn't feel great. My legs felt heavy, I was tired, and I didn't feel my best. Practices here were really good and I had been feeling really good, so I think it was fatigue that I really need to manage going into the individual event. I am really proud of the mental strength I've built over the years to get through mistakes at the beginning and really fight in the second half." Despite this, Glenn managed to accumulate enough points to help secure an Olympic gold medal for Team USA. She also became the first openly LGBTQ+ woman representing the United States in Olympic singles figure skating and the fifth women's singles skater to land a triple Axel at the Winter Olympic Games. 220px Glenn during a practice session at the 2026 Winter OlympicsOn the same day, Seb McKinnon complained on social media that Glenn had used his copyrighted music for her free skate without his permission. Glenn took the day off from training and then departed Milan to practice elsewhere ahead of the individual women's event. She had received some backlash on social media due to comments she had made during a press conference. "I was disappointed because I've never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking ‍about being decent, human rights and decency."

On February 10, Glenn announced that she had resolved the music dispute between herself and McKinnon, with the pair describing what had happened as a misunderstanding rather than a conflict. "The issue of music rights can be complex and confusing, and it seems like there was a hiccup somewhere in that process," Glenn said in a statement. "I'm glad we were able to clear things up and I'm excited about the possibility of collaborating with Seb moving forward." Prior to the Women's singles event, Madonna, whose song Glenn used for her short program, sent Glenn a video message wishing her good luck. On February 17, Glenn competed in the short program segment of the event. Although she opened the program with a clean triple Axel and triple flip-triple toe combination, she doubled her planned triple loop, which rendered that element invalid and meant she received zero points for it. The error cost her around seven points, dropping her from likely medal contention and putting her all the way down to thirteenth place. Glenn described the moment as "soul-crushing." She later told NBC, "I wanted to enjoy today, and unfortunately I didn't get to. So hopefully I can try to find some happiness in the free skate."

Two days later, Glenn delivered an almost flawless free skate apart from putting a hand down on her final triple loop jump. As a result, she scored a season's best free skate and combined total score. Her performance was strong enough for her to place third in the free skate segment and climb up to fifth place overall. "Of course, today there were small mistakes, but I feel like I handled myself really well," she said following the event. "There were many, many things I had to struggle with to get to where I am today in that performance. But I'm really happy with how I was able to skate. I told myself, no matter what, you're going to look up and say, "I'm at the Olympics." And I'm really proud that I was able to do that... Alysa and Isabeau are so young. They have many more years in figure skating if they choose to keep going. I don't know how long I have left, so I might be helping more from the sidelines. But I'm just really proud and happy about the legacy they're leaving on the sport — especially Alysa, with her story of stepping back for her mental health. I think that really shows you never know what the journey to success is going to look like. I hope that message reaches the skating community — that it's okay if it takes time."

Moreover, a clip of Glenn went viral online where she was seen sitting next to and comforting Kaori Sakamoto following her free skate performance, before Glenn stands up to wave away a cameraman that tried to get a close-up of Sakamoto's tear-filled face. Glenn swiftly commented under the video after it was posted to TikTok, writing, "Dude, I know it's their job, but they will get all up in your business when you clearly need space it's wild!"

During a post-competition press conference, Glenn revealed that she had been experiencing menstrual pain throughout the entirety of the women's single event. "I’m on my period right now, so it’s always really hard, especially when you're wearing [a tight-fitting costume] and have to perform in front of the whole world," she said. "It’s scary, and it makes you extra emotional, and it’s hard. And you have to go be an athlete... It's something we don't talk about a lot for female athletes, and I think it should be a topic of discussion."

Glenn's sister, Brooke, published an op-ed for Teen Vogue on the day of the women's free skate, condemning the wide array of online hate that Glenn received throughout the Games. Excerpts from the article included:

At the 2026 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Glenn finished third in the short program achieving a small bronze medal behind Mone Chiba and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. She placed ninth in the free skating segment, dropping to sixth place overall. After her disappointing result, Glenn took to social media sharing a hopeful message whilst describing an exhausting competitive season. "Thank you everyone for the love and support I'm okay! If anything I'm mentally, emotionally, physically exhausted after a season of extreme highs and lows. I did what I set out to do 6 years ago. Land a triple axel and go to the Olympics and nothing will take that away from me," Glenn wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Dancing with the Stars On September 2, 2026, it was announced that Glenn would participate in season 35 of Dancing with the Stars. Her professional partner was Pasha Pashkov.

Programs

Awards Year Award Category Result 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Athlete Alumni Ambassador (3A) 2023 Skating MagazineReader's Choice 20262026 Winter Olympics Fair Play Award The Queerties Sports Hero ISU Figure Skating Awards Most Entertaining Program Best Costume

Competitive highlights

Detailed results

Senior level

Junior level