Latest news with #AmberGlenn
NBC Sports
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC Sports
Glenn reflects on the importance of Pride Month
Team USA figure skater Amber Glenn, a two-time national champion and a Grand Prix Final champion, reflects on what Pride Month means to her and the importance of queer representation in figure skating.
NBC News
25-06-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Figure skater Amber Glenn says embracing her sexuality 'unapologetically' has helped her fans
Not only is Amber Glenn a figure skating champion, but she's also a legend in the LGBTQ community. Glenn, who identifies as pansexual, became the first out LGBTQ woman to win the U.S. Women's Figure Skating Championship when she skated her way to victory in January 2024. In an interview with NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday, Glenn said she's happy to be a beacon of hope for fans. 'The stories I've been told that something I did, something I said, and being who I am publicly, unapologetically has helped them feel better, that outweighs any sort of backlash or anything that could ever come negatively from me being who I am,' she said. 'It's one of the reasons why I kept skating even when I might not have been seeing the results I wanted.' As a mental health advocate, Glenn has also talked about her struggles both in and out of the rink. In 2015, she took some time away from the sport to check herself into a mental health facility. 'I was in a very dark place. I eventually was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, eating disorder. One of my friends contacted one of my parents and I sought help, and I'm so grateful for that,' she said. 'Eventually, I got to a place to where I was doing things in a healthy way and I could speak about my struggles,' Glenn added. The athlete noted that she felt compelled to talk about her mental health struggles because she didn't see others do that when she was a kid. 'I think growing up, I saw the top skaters as untouchable and as these people who didn't have the same struggles that I was having at that age. Eventually, I got a peek behind the curtain and they were struggling in silence,' she said. 'After seeing that, I realized that it was more important for me to be honest about my journey than to try and act like everything was perfect,' she continued. Glenn, one of the few U.S. women to have successfully landed a triple axel in competition, also talked about competing with ADHD. She explained that her mind sometimes races before competitions. 'I get those thoughts, those impulsive thoughts of, 'What if you didn't do it? What if someone pulls the fire alarm?'' she said about landing one of her jumps. 'It's so hard to get into the perfect mindset — to be able to accomplish it. But that's what I work so hard to do,' she added. While Glenn has overcome so much, she shared that she's still working on trusting and believing in herself more. 'Why is that difficult now? You're so awesome,' "Today" host Carson Daley asked. 'I think because it wasn't always the case,' she replied. 'It's taken me many, many, many years to get to where I am today. And I think part of me is still in disbelief and I need to trust that I put in the work to be here and that I do deserve it.'
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Amber Glenn discusses mental health journey on TODAY
Two-time U.S. figure skating champion Amber Glenn reflected on her mental health journey, starting with briefly stepping away from the sport in late 2015, in a TODAY interview that aired Tuesday. "I was in a very dark place," Glenn said, referring to 2015 and noting she was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and an eating disorder. "One of my friends contacted one of my parents, and I sought help. I'm so grateful for that." Advertisement Glenn turned 16 years old during that time. She reflected for months and did step back on the ice. "I had no idea (if I would go back to figure skating)," Glenn told TODAY. "I knew that there was no way I could go back to the way I was doing things. And eventually I got to a place where I was doing things in a healthy way, and I could speak about my struggles." In March 2016, while still on a break from competition, Glenn attended the World Championships women's free skate in Boston. She watched as American Ashley Wagner performed brilliantly, moving up from fourth place after the short program to earn a silver medal. Advertisement It was part inspiring and also part discouraging. Glenn didn't believe at the time that she could ever reach that level. "Growing up, I saw the top skaters as untouchable and as these people who didn't have the same struggles that I was having at that age," she said. "Eventually, I got a peek behind the curtain, and they were struggling in silence. After seeing that, I realized that it was more important for me to be honest about my journey than to try and act like everything was perfect." Eight years after that time away, Glenn won her first senior U.S. title in 2024, then repeated as champion this past January. She also won this past December's Grand Prix Final, the second-most prestigious annual international event after the World Championships. Advertisement Glenn is bidding to make the three-woman team for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, which will be decided by a committee after this upcoming January's U.S. Championships. At 26, she can become the oldest U.S. women's singles skater to compete in an Olympics in 98 years. "Part of me is still in disbelief," Glenn told TODAY. "I need to trust that I put in the work to be here and that I do deserve it." Amber Glenn's figure skating story ties to Jason Brown, Ashley Wagner, 7th grade math class Amber Glenn reflected on long-ago memories of Jason Brown and Ashley Wagner, plus recent ones with a local school class.
NBC Sports
24-06-2025
- Health
- NBC Sports
Amber Glenn discusses mental health journey on TODAY
Two-time U.S. figure skating champion Amber Glenn reflected on her mental health journey, starting with briefly stepping away from the sport in late 2015, in a TODAY interview that aired Tuesday. 'I was in a very dark place,' Glenn said, referring to 2015 and noting she was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and an eating disorder. 'One of my friends contacted one of my parents, and I sought help. I'm so grateful for that.' Glenn turned 16 years old during that time. She reflected for months and did step back on the ice. 'I had no idea (if I would go back to figure skating),' Glenn told TODAY. 'I knew that there was no way I could go back to the way I was doing things. And eventually I got to a place where I was doing things in a healthy way, and I could speak about my struggles.' In March 2016, while still on a break from competition, Glenn attended the World Championships women's free skate in Boston. She watched as American Ashley Wagner performed brilliantly, moving up from fourth place after the short program to earn a silver medal. It was part inspiring and also part discouraging. Glenn didn't believe at the time that she could ever reach that level. 'Growing up, I saw the top skaters as untouchable and as these people who didn't have the same struggles that I was having at that age,' she said. 'Eventually, I got a peek behind the curtain, and they were struggling in silence. After seeing that, I realized that it was more important for me to be honest about my journey than to try and act like everything was perfect.' Eight years after that time away, Glenn won her first senior U.S. title in 2024, then repeated as champion this past January. She also won this past December's Grand Prix Final, the second-most prestigious annual international event after the World Championships. Glenn is bidding to make the three-woman team for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, which will be decided by a committee after this upcoming January's U.S. Championships. At 26, she can become the oldest U.S. women's singles skater to compete in an Olympics in 98 years. 'Part of me is still in disbelief,' Glenn told TODAY. 'I need to trust that I put in the work to be here and that I do deserve it.' Nick Zaccardi,
Associated Press
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
For two-time US champion Amber Glenn, waiting for the free skate at worlds was the hardest part
BOSTON (AP) — Two-time defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn survived the interminable wait to get back on the ice Friday night after she had fallen in her short program at the figure skating world championships. Then came an even more painful turn in the new leader's chair, which was introduced this year to bring athletes closer to the fans, and where Glenn sat bathed in bright lights until someone surpassed her score. At one point, the camera cut to Glenn and she was shown on the TD Garden scoreboards and TV monitors while she distractedly scrolled through her phone. 'I don't love it,' she told reporters with a wince. 'Awkward and stressful.' She may have skated to 'I Will Find You' by Audiomachine. But her personal mantra is more like 'The Waiting is the Hardest Part.' 'I kept thinking, 'OK, 10 minutes and it's over' — you know, counting down until I was done,' Glenn said. 'Just because it's been such a tough two months of training since nationals.' Not long after Glenn finished, Alysa Liu became the first American women's figure skating world champion since Kimmie Meissner in 2006, dethroning three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto on Friday with a free skate that earned her the biggest of the standing ovations of the night for a U.S. contingent that placed three skaters in the top five. Mone Chiba of Japan earned bronze, American Isabeau Levito was fourth and Glenn came in fifth — a disappointing finish for one of the favorites heading into the event, but quite a climb from ninth place after falling on her opening triple axel Wednesday. The 25-year-old from Plano, Texas, who was unbeaten heading into worlds, landed that same triple axel in her free skate. She made a minor mistake on her triple lutz-double toe combination, and had to change up a couple of jumps for simpler options in the middle of the program, but she still posted a solid free-skate score of 138.00 points. 'Of course, I'm upset about making a mistake on my easiest jump,' she said. 'But I'm proud of myself for fighting.' Glenn received a huge ovation from the American crowd – some of them waving rainbow flags for the outspoken bisexual and pansexual skater – and a torrent of stuffed animals poured onto the ice. 'They really got me through the program, even after mistakes,' she said. 'It startled me after the loop going into my axel-axel because I went to step and the crowd went wild' -- she gasped -- 'I went 'Oh, shoot.' But I walked back in, so I was proud of that.' Talking to reporters while Levito skated — and insisting that they leave a clear view of the monitor as she rooted on her U.S. teammate — Glenn said she was happy to bounce back after her disappointing short program. 'I did not feel good physically here. I felt horrible, mentally,' she said. 'So, coming into this event, I didn't exactly feel like the powerful (fighter) that I need to be in my short program. I kind of felt a bit timid, and I'm just happy I was able to fight through that.' ___
