Amber Glenn Cries After She Struggles in Women’s Short Program at 2026 Winter Olympics

Amber Glenn didn’t have the night she wanted.

The 26-year-old figure skater struggled through her short program during the women’s figure skating final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, bursting into tears as soon as she stepped off the ice and again while waiting for her score.

Glenn’s routine, set to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” began strongly with a triple axel. But three elements later, her attempt at a triple toe loop went wrong, invalidating the move and significantly hurting her overall score.

A first-time Olympian who won team-event gold on Feb. 8, Glenn completed the remainder of her program but showed her disappointment immediately afterward, skating into her coaches’ arms and crying. She received a 67.39 and sat 13th at the end of the night.

Among the U.S. skaters, Alysa Liu posted the top score with 76.59 points, placing third heading into Thursday’s free skate. The third American, Isabeau Levito, earned 70.84 for eighth. All three women qualified for the free skate, after which the medals will be decided.

After the short program, only Liu, 20, spoke with reporters. She watched Glenn’s skate from the mixed zone and reacted with a gasp when Glenn missed the triple toe loop.

“She’s gone through so much and she works so friggen’ hard — like genuinely, such a hard worker — and she’s overcome a lot,” Liu said. “I just want her to be happy. That’s genuinely all I want. And so I’ll be seeing her later. We’ll stick together.”

Asked about Glenn’s emotions being so visible, Liu said it was difficult to see, but called her teammate’s reaction “understandable.”

“She’s super strong, so she can handle it,” Liu added.

Earlier in the Olympics, Glenn told fans she would be stepping away from social media after receiving what she described as a “scary” amount of hate and threats. The comments followed her remarks about President Trump’s treatment of the LGBTQ community.

“When I chose to utilize one of the amazing things about the United States of America (Freedom of speech) to convey how I feel as an athlete competing for Team USA in a troubling time for many Americans, I am now receiving a scary amount of hate/threats for simply using my voice WHEN ASKED about how I feel,” she wrote on Instagram Stories on Feb. 7.