US skater Amber Glenn rebounds with a season-best free skate, finishes fifth at the Olympics
MILAN (AP) — Amber Glenn delivered a redemptive free skate at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday night, turning what had been tears of disappointment and sorrow just a couple of days earlier into ones of pride and joy. It nearly turned a hopeless night into one that ended with a medal. The three-time reigning U.S.
champion, whose crucial error in Tuesday night's short program seemed to take her out medal contention, thrust herself right back into it with a season-best free skate. Glenn's score of 214.91 was nearly the best of her long career, and it put her on top for quite a while as the final groups performed at the Winter Games.
Glenn threw a defiant punch to the air as her music came to a close, then tears began to flow as her coach, Damon Allen, enveloped her in a hug. And when her score was read, both of them raised their arms in a moment of sheer triumph. She wound up finishing fifth behind teammate Alysa Liu, the first gold medalist for the U.S.
in 24 years , and the Japanese trio of silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto, bronze medalist Ami Nakai and fourth-place finisher Mone Chiba. Glenn, who earned a gold medal as part of the winning U.S. team earlier in the Olympics, was among the favorites in the women's event. She was fourth at the prestigious Grand Prix Final in December and won her latest national title just last month.
Yet the outspoken LGBTQ+ activist was left fighting back tears Tuesday night, when a major mistake on a triple loop cost her so many points that she was in 13th place — and skating roughly two hours before the leaders stepped on the ice. That left Glenn to sit in the leader's chair, which is new for the Milan Cortina Games, with a blanket over her for quite a while. She watched the ice get resurfaced.
She stood and encouraged the crowd to applaud Sofia Samodelkina after her skate, and clapped for those who came afterward. She gave up a big hug to American teammate Isabeau Levito, who fell on her opening triple flip and was unable to put together the kind of free skate that would get her into the mix. One by one, those who had performed better than Glenn on Tuesday night walked past her in the leader's chair.
It wasn't until Chiba finally took the ice that Glenn was knocked from her lofty perch. Liu followed the Japanese skater with her golden free skate, while Sakamoto and Nakai ultimately pushed Glenn down to fifth place in the final standings. That didn't stop Glenn from celebrating when Liu was crowned the Olympic champion.
The 26-year-old from Plano, Texas, immediately hopped onto the kiss-and-cry stand to raise her teammate's hand in victory. ___ AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics Amber Glenn delivered a redemptive free skate at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday night, turning what had been tears of disappointment and sorrow just a couple of days earlier into ones of pride and joy.
The three-time reigning U.S. champion, whose crucial error in Tuesday night's short program seemed to take her out medal contention, thrust herself right back into it with a season-best free skate. Glenn's score of 214.91 was nearly the best of her long career, and it put her on top for quite a while as the final groups performed at the Winter Games.
Amber Glenn delivered a redemptive free skate at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday night, turning what had been tears of disappointment and sorrow just a couple of days earlier into ones of pride and joy. The three-time reigning U.S. champion, whose crucial error in Tuesday night's short program seemed to take her out medal contention, thrust herself right back into it with a season-best free skate.