Amber Glenn's Olympic Rollercoaster: Season-Best Free Skate Overshadowed by Short Program Rule
Amber Glenn arrived at the Milano Cortina Games riding high and left the short program reeling — a mix of athletic triumph and a harsh technical penalty that reshaped her Olympic trajectory.
Amber Glenn's short program setback and its consequences
On Feb. 17, 2026 (ET), Amber Glenn executed one of the most difficult elements in women's skating, becoming one of just two competitors to land a triple axel in the women's short program. That achievement would normally position a skater close to medal contention. But Glenn’s momentum faltered when she tapped down during her flying sit spin and later popped a triple loop, completing only two revolutions on a jump that was required in the short program.
Because the short program mandates a set of required elements, performing a double instead of the required triple meant she received no points for that skill — a penalty that left her with a 13th-place finish in the segment. The emotional toll was raw: Glenn described the moment as "soul crushing, " saying she had done the hardest elements but lost her favorite, simplest jump when it mattered most. She also noted the peculiar pressure on skaters to mask disappointment and continue performing with a smile, even when a dream feels shattered.
Free skate flourish: season-best score and signals of growth
Glenn rebounded in the free skate, delivering a performance that earned a season-best free skate score for the athlete at these Games. That surge in the long program followed earlier signs of resilience: teammates rallied after the short program mistake, and Glenn worked to prevent early errors from wrecking the remainder of her routines. She pointed to progress over time in her ability to push through mistakes, noting that in prior team competition she had recovered from a rough start and finished strongly.
The season-best free skate score underscored the split nature of Glenn’s Olympic debut — dazzling technical accomplishment in one segment, costly rule-driven consequences in another. The juxtaposition highlighted both the reward for peak performance and the unforgiving mechanics of Olympic scoring when required elements are missed.
Support, community and the bigger picture
Glenn’s experience at the Games did not happen in isolation. Teammates were immediately present after her short program, with one coming to offer support as she came off the ice. The closeness of the U. S. women’s group has been a recurring theme; members of the team have bonded and branded themselves collectively, emphasizing a desire to change a competitive environment long criticized for rigid control over athletes’ bodies and choices.
Glenn said she has been working on the mental aspect of performance so that an early mistake no longer ruins an entire program. Her coach noted that earlier in their work together, a poor beginning would often lead to a cascade of problems. The mixed outcomes in Milan — a triple axel and a season-best free skate score alongside a costly short program error — underline the narrow margins at Olympic-level competition and the psychological work athletes must sustain between elements, runs, and rounds.
Her Olympic debut thus reads as both a technical showcase and a cautionary example of how one missed required element can override otherwise high-level skating. For Amber Glenn, the Games produced moments of both elation and heartbreak, and the aftermath will likely focus on how she balances ambitious technical content with the need for cleanly executed, required elements under pressure.
