Plano-native Amber Glenn, 22 years old, began figure skating at the age of five. After winning numerous medals, she took some time to put the ice rink behind her to engage in a period of personal reflection. Now, living in Euless, she is back and aiming to earn a spot on the Olympic team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Glenn started on the ice rink at an early age and trained at the Children’s Health StarCenter, according to KXAN News. Her website shares that in 2014 she became the U.S. Junior Champion and won two bronze medals in the Junior Grand Prix Series. In 2020, she earned the ninth spot in the Four Continents Championships and won a bronze medal in Salt Lake City at the U.S. Classic.
Glenn hit a bump in the road five years ago while in Euless at the rink, NBC DFW reported. “I came here broken, to be honest, I had dealt with a lot. I had quit skating. I had to totally rebuild,” Glenn shared.
She worked with motivation and determination, on a mission to rebuild herself, but something inside her seemed to hold her back from reaching the top ten once again. At that moment, she decided to tell the world that she was bisexual and pansexual. “I finally was like, you know what? If I’m not going to be at the top, I at least wanted to be my authentic self. So I came out. I started living my truth, not caring about being some cookie cutter-type ice princess,” she stated.
One of her greatest fears was being judged by others, especially her fans, and of course, the judges themselves. When they showed her support, a weight was lifted from her shoulders. “The overwhelming amount of support and love that I received after was incredible.”
After sharing this personal part of herself with the world, she began to feel at ease in the ice rink, and her scores rose once again. Glenn hit the ice with two ultimate goals in mind. She has reached the first by perfecting her triple axel jump. The second is to make the team for the Winter Olympics in 2022. She went on to receive the silver medal at the U.S. National Championships in 2021.
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are now running from January 3 through January 9 in Nashville where Glenn, along with partners Timothy LeDuc of Dallas and Ashley Cain-Gribble of Coppell, will compete. Their performances during the championships in Tennessee will determine if any of them will go to Beijing for the Olympic Winter Games from February 4 through February 20.
The U.S. Figure Skating Selection Committee will declare the members of the Olympic Team in Nashville on Sunday, January 9.