Amber Glenn has opened up about how the accepting nature of the figure skating community gave her a safe space and allowed her to publicly come out as bisexual and pansexual. The 26-year-old is currently preparing to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Glenn secured her spot in the Team USA roster for the Winter Olympics with an exemplary showing at the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Amber Glenn Reflects on How Figure Skating Community Inspired Her To Come Out
During a recent interview with Huffpost, Glenn opened up about her decision to publicly come out as bisexual and pansexual in 2019, and how her fellow figure skaters inspired her to embrace herself.
“Growing up in Texas, it was something that wasn’t always looked at positively. But I had incredible training mates, and I was very blessed to be in the sport of figure skating, where people are more accepting than some other outlets. And my training mate at the time, Timothy LeDeuc, the first non-binary Winter Olympian, I saw them embracing who they are and how it was really setting them free,” Glenn said.
“And they inspired me to just be myself, and the way they were uplifting the community and uplifting me before I even publicly came out inspired me was one of the big reasons why I wanted to speak out about being part of the community and wanting to be an advocate for it going forward,” she added.
Glenn is all set to make her Olympic debut this month and will be one of the favorites to win the gold medal in women’s figure skating.
At the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, Glenn etched her name in the record books as she became the first woman since Michelle Kwan to win three back-to-back national titles.
MORE: U.S. Champion Amber Glenn Reveals How Depression and Anxiety Once Clouded Her Success
Glenn broke the scoring record in the short program with an excellent 83.05. She then scored a 150.50 in the free skate to cement her victory over rivals and friends Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito. All three athletes were later named in the Team USA roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
With the Winter Olympics almost upon us, Glenn will have her sights set on making more history. As she competes at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the Texas native will become the first openly queer woman to represent the United States in figure skating (per Outsports). She will also become the oldest American woman to qualify for an Olympic singles team since 1928 (per ESPN).
