Amber Glenn recently qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina after winning the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis on January 10. She’ll be making history as the first openly queer woman to skate for Team USA in Olympic singles competition. Women’s figure skating has always had strict expectations about how female athletes should present themselves. Glenn doesn’t stick to those rules.
Her win in St. Louis was her third national championship in a row. Before Glenn, only Michelle Kwan had won three consecutive U.S. national titles.
The Scream Heard Round the Arena
Glenn screamed when she saw her score. After skating her short program in St. Louis, she was waiting in the cooldown area when 83.05 flashed on the monitor. She couldn’t believe it. The score set a new U.S. record. Two days later, that record-breaking performance helped her win her third straight title with a total score of 233.55 points. She skated to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” The Enterprise Center had a full house.
Michelle Kwan was the last American woman to win three national titles in a row. That was over 20 years ago. Glenn is 26, which makes her the oldest American woman on an Olympic singles team since 1928. Most women’s figure skating careers used to end by 20. Not anymore. “I’m really happy that we’re able to speak for longevity in this sport,” Glenn told Olympics.com.
Before this success, Glenn had stepped away from skating because of mental health struggles. Multiple concussions delayed her training. Her performances were inconsistent. She couldn’t land the triple axel at the 2021 U.S. championships and was named an alternate for that year’s world team, not a full member. At the 2022 U.S. championships, she finished 14th in the short program before withdrawing with Covid.
Ending a 20-Year Medal Drought
Glenn’s teammates in Milan are Alysa Liu, who won the world championship last year, and Isabeau Levito. American women haven’t medaled at the Olympics since Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006. Sarah Hughes won gold in 2002. Glenn cares about winning, but that’s not everything. She also wants queer kids who love skating to watch her compete and realize they belong in this sport too.
“I Felt It Was Important to Be Visible”
After winning her first national title in 2024, Glenn talked to NBC Sports about being the first openly queer women’s champion. “Being the first openly queer women’s champion is incredible,” she said. “I felt that it was important to be visible in a sport that is so stereotypical, ‘You have to be a pretty princess.'”
Most female figure skaters wear traditional costumes and perform to classical music. Not Amber. She wears pantsuits. She skates to Madonna and Janet Jackson. She says her choices are deliberate. “If I want to wear a pantsuit, I’m going to wear a pantsuit. When it fits the music and fits the story, it’s not even a question.”
Coming Out Was Supposed to Be Quiet
Glenn’s 2019 coming out wasn’t planned as a big announcement. Dallas Voice was writing about Timothy LeDuc and their pairs partner winning a national championship. LeDuc had just become the first openly out athlete to win a U.S. pairs title. Glenn, who was friends with the couple, got quoted in the story. She mentioned she was bisexual and pansexual.
She thought it would be a small step. A local story. “I thought, ‘OK, this is my little baby step, and barely anyone’s gonna see it. It was a local newspaper,'” Glenn said. “Yeah, it did not stay local. The next day it was, like, international news.”
Glenn had specific fears about what coming out might mean for her career. Figure skating uses subjective scoring. Judges award points for technical elements and also for “artistry”—skating skills, presentation, composition. She worried about being seen as “less feminine” or “less graceful.” She worried people would ask, “are you the man in the relationship?” She worried about sponsors pulling funding. She worried about judges scoring her differently.
“It’s not whoever crosses the finish line first wins,” Glenn said. “Part of it is up for discussion. It’s up to that person’s opinion. So of course I was scared that I’d be looked at as less feminine, less graceful.”
Those fears never materialized. Glenn says her scores haven’t been affected in the six years since she came out. Sponsors didn’t drop her. At her first competition after coming out, she saw Pride flags in the audience.
Coming Out Wasn’t Easy
Glenn struggled with her sexuality as a teenager. She was competing at elite levels and dealing with depression and an eating disorder. In 2015, she entered inpatient treatment. She tried to talk about her sexuality with providers. They told her it wasn’t important. That hurt.
Her perspective shifted when she started training with Timothy LeDuc. In 2022, LeDuc became the first openly non-binary athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics. “They lived as themselves, and I felt safe with them,” Glenn said. “I saw the struggles they went through competing in a sport that’s very much like, you’re A or B. They were really inspiring to me.”
LeDuc said authenticity is Glenn’s strength. “Something I noticed about Amber was that she was always very much herself. Skaters can get caught up in perfection, in trying to mold themselves into what they think they need to be. But Amber’s just always been Amber.”
The Breakthrough
After the 2022 Olympics ended, Glenn made changes. She switched coaches and moved from Texas to Colorado to train with Damon Allen. In 2022, she won her first Grand Prix circuit medal and took gold at the World Team Trophy.
She also started working with a mental coach who helps her manage the adrenaline rush during competitions. They use breathing exercises. It’s made a difference. When Glenn won her first U.S. national title in 2024, she made mistakes on two jumps early in her routine but still won. The performance was compared to Michelle Kwan’s similar error-filled but title-winning routine in 1997.
Less than a year later, Glenn became the first U.S. woman to win the Grand Prix Final in 14 years. She went undefeated that season.
Glenn credits coming out as essential to her success. “No matter how hard I tried, I just did not fit into the mold,” she said. “Eventually I realized if I’m going to keep doing this, I want to at least do it as me, because I’m not going to fit into this mold. I’m not going to be at the top anyways, so I might as well do it as myself. And in doing so, I ended up making it to the top somehow.”
Her Message to Those Still Hiding
Glenn has advice for anyone struggling to come out. “Hiding who you are is more damaging than anything anyone else could say. It can be so hard because, unfortunately, we live in a world where we have to think about safety first. One of the best things you can do is find people who support you and accept you. If you’re in a safe place, and the only thing holding you back is judgment, forego that.”
Other skaters call her “mama bear.” She carries around a giant bag filled with supplies—Band-Aids, snacks, whatever someone might need. Younger athletes see her as a mentor while they figure out who they are.
LeDuc said Glenn is opening doors. “Amber’s paving the way for so many skaters, queer and otherwise.”
The 2026 Winter Olympics start February 6 in Milan-Cortina, Italy. Figure skating competition runs February 6-22.
