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

Amber Glenn Cries After She Struggles in Women's Short Program at 2026 Winter Olympics https://ift.tt/X8RcNL6

Glenn, 26, missed her triple toe loop partway through her program, invalidating the element

Amber Glenn after her short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics

WANG Zhao / AFP via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Amber Glenn struggled in her short program in the women's figure skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics
• Glenn, 26, cried as she finished her skate and heard her score, which put her in 13th at the end of the night
• Her fellow Team USA skaters Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito had strong skates, and are in third and eighth, respectively

Amber Glenn didn't have the night she wanted.

The figure skater, 26, struggled through her short program during the women's figure skating final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, crying as soon as she stepped off the ice and as she waited to hear her score.

Glenn's routine, set to Madonna's "Like a Prayer," started off well, with a triple axel, but her attempt at a triple toe loop three moves later failed, invalidating the move and dropping her possible score.

The first-time Olympian made it through the rest of her program, but immediately showed her disappointment, before skating into the arms of her coaches and breaking into tears. She was awarded 67.39, putting her in 13th at the end of the night.

Alysa Liu after her short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Matthew Stockman/Getty

Alysa Liu nabbed the highest score of the night among the U.S. skaters with 76.59 points, earning third place going into the free skate on Thursday. The third American on the team, Isabeau Levito, earned 70.84, and eighth place for her skate. All three women have qualified for the free skate program, after which the medals will be awarded.

After the program, only Liu, 20, spoke with reporters, and was in the mixed zone while Glenn skated. She let out a gasp when Glenn missed her 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 then told reporters, including PEOPLE. “I just want her to be happy. That’s genuinely all I want. And so I’ll be seeing her later, don’t worry guys. We’ll stick together.”

When asked if it was hard to see Glenn’s emotions on display as they were tonight, Liu said yes, but that her teammate’s reaction was “understandable.”

“She’s super strong, so she can handle it,” the athlete said.

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