Peak moment on the 13th day of the Olympics
USAT’s Sam Cardona Norberg breaks down the epic night the Team USA women’s team had on the ice during Day 13 of the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
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MILAN — Two days after a painful short program, Amber Glenn took to the ice again for the women’s figure skating long program at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Glenn, a 26-year-old American competing in his first Olympics, said as he entered the night that it was a lifelong dream of his to regain the joy of skating and to truly enjoy and soak up the experience. She did more than that, finishing in first place with a score of 147.52. At the U.S. Championships in January, she scored 150.50 points, which was considered her best performance of the season at an international competition.
Glenn, who finished 13th after the short program, told NBC before his performance, “No matter what the weather is like today, I never expected to get here. That in itself is an accomplishment. I came here to be who I am and stand up for what I believe in.”
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She did just that. She began her free skate with a triple axel that reached incredible heights, a true display of industrial strength. When she finished, she did her signature fist pump in the middle of the ice, and the crowd cheered her on by showering stuffed animals on the ice.
During the kiss-and-cry section, while waiting to score, she could be heard saying, “I’m in the Olympics. I didn’t fall. I didn’t fall in the Olympics.”
After the scores were read out, she hugged her coach, cried tears of joy, and gave another fist pump in victory, finishing with a total of 214.91 points.
“She killed it,” Liu said of Glenn on NBC.
“This has been a dangerous journey. I’m here and I want to enjoy it,” she told NBC before the skate.
Glenn has already won a gold medal in the team event for the United States. While she is unlikely to make it to the podium, her U.S. teammates still have a chance. Isabeau Levit entered the free skate in 8th place, and Alisa Liu took 3rd place.
Amber Glenn skated to two songs: “I Will Find You” and “The Return.” Here are the elements and scores she performed:
- Triple Axel: 10.40
- Triple flip + triple approach: 10.94
- Triple Lutz + Double Toe Loop: 8.13
- Triple salchow: 5.16
- Flysit spin: 3.77
- Triple loop + double axel + double axel + SEQ: 13.98
- Triple flip: 6.97
- Change foot comb. Spin: 4.55
- Triple loop: 3.85
- Step sequence: 3.23
- Choreo sequence: 4.50
- Layback spin: 3.39
Her long program program component score was 68.65.
Amber Glenn appeared to be in control when she launched her short program with a triple axel to thunderous applause at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Skating to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” the 26-year-old skated powerfully and fluidly before bailing a triple loop to negate her zero points for that element, earning her 67.39 points and 13th place.
Read Glenn’s full short program.
Amber Glenn’s mental health advocacy
More than a decade ago, Amber Glenn was a rising star in the figure skating world.
Greatness was expected of Glenn, a junior national champion who had just made his senior-level debut at the 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Glenn was struggling on the ice. She was battling depression along with anxiety and an eating disorder. While everyone saw great potential, all the pressures were building up and becoming too much.
“I didn’t want to be on this earth anymore,” Glenn said.
Even though the situation was dire, Glenn called for help. She was admitted to a facility for treatment. It allowed her to take a step back from everything and connect with her family and friends. But most of all, she “felt like I wanted to have a future again.”
Read the full story from USA TODAY sports reporter Jordan Mendoza.
