Pansexual figure skater Amber Glenn has had a rollercoaster first Olympics.
After becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to score a spot on the U.S. figure skating team, she made a splash at the Winter Games by winning a gold medal as part of the team event, before dropping from the top of the podium to 13th place after a particularly disastrous short program performance.
But the queer community should still be proud of Glenn, who picked herself up, dusted herself off, and went on to soar to a season’s best score of 147.52 in the free skate on Feb. 19.
She may not be picking up a singles medal at the Milano Cortina Olympics, but Glenn opened her free skate with a flawless triple Axel, and although she made a mistake at the end of her performance, she was clearly proud of her accomplishments and gave her signature fist pump at center ice.
While on the kiss-and-cry couch awaiting her scores, Glenn could be heard saying, "I’m at the Olympics. I didn’t fall. I didn’t fall at the Olympics.”
After redeeming herself with her free skate, Glenn told NBC that she was proud of herself. “I told myself enjoy it, and I had my moment in my spiral,” she said. "I told myself, 'You just skated, stayed on your feet at the Olympics.’ I am proud that I was able to have that moment.”
Glenn, who at 26 years old made her Olympic debut, said she was fighting for the little girl she used to be.
“That six-year-old girl that never thought I’d ever be here, so I just told myself to go out there, do your job," Glenn said. "I was working toward being able to have that moment [step] sequence, that was my reward.”
