WICHITA, Kan. — Amber Glenn has fought through so many injuries and mental roadblocks over the years that nobody would have thought less of her had she given up figure skating, the sport that has brought her so much stress yet so much joy.
One of the best hopes for an American medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the 25-year-old tackled head-on an eating disorder, which is all-too common in the sport. She has battled depression and learned to cope with ADHD, which at one point drove her to take eight months away from the ice. And she has become a popular champion for the LGBTQ community.
Now, at an age when many rivals contemplate retirement, Glenn has reached something approaching inner peace, and it has translated into a late-career revival. She has not lost in any competition in more than a year, last month becoming the first American to win the prestigious Grand Prix Final in nearly 15 years, and beginning Thursday night will attempt to defend her gold medal at the final U.S. Figure Skating Championships before the Milano-Cortina Games.
‘‘It’s taken many, many years to get to this point,‘’ Glenn said. ‘’I went through a point being just at my lowest, to recovering, to being at a place of stagnant — I was OK. I wasn’t great but I was surviving, which isn’t thriving, but I was surviving. I would have flare-ups, setbacks, things would happen. I was in a more delicate state but more stable than when it came crashing down.‘’
That was back in 2015 and ’16, Glenn explained, when she was considered an up-and-coming prodigy, poised to follow in the footsteps of such American champions as Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, Kimmie Meissner and Rachael Flatt.
Instead, Glenn found herself in a mental health facility shortly before her first senior international competition. She went on to finish sixth at the Autumn Classic, but then stepped away from the sport entirely to focus on her personal well-being.
She didn’t quit, though — not on figure skating or herself. And while there were still hurdles for Glenn to overcome, including a series of concussions, she began to see progress, and that gave her the confidence to keep going.
‘‘As I came into my own and really did some reflection on who I am, and along with that the coming out, deciding to skate how I wanted to skate — not for the scores but for myself — and doing things like that even in my everyday life, it has been essential for my growth both mentally and in the sport,‘’ Glenn said. “I would say I really came into my own my last couple years, and my crisis was ’15-16, but luckily I had a lot of good resources, a lot of good tools and people I asked for help.
