The Olympic struggles continued for Plano’s Amber Glenn as she skated to a disappointing 13th position after the short program in the women’s singles figure skating competition at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
She landed the difficult triple axel — one of only two women to do so along with leader Ami Nakai of Japan — to open her program but faltered on a triple loop down the stretch, scoring 0 points on the element. She knew the mistake had cost her and skated off the ice with tears in her eyes.
“I had it,” Glenn told her coach Damon Allen after the skate.
“It’s not over,” Allen replied.
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Glenn entered the Olympics with gold medal hopes in the singles event after skating a personal best en route to winning her third consecutive U.S. title in January. The Olympics have so far not gone according to plan.
She took gold in the team event but stumbled to a third-place finish during her free skate performance last week, necessitating a first-place free skate from Ilia Malinin to secure a U.S. victory. Tuesday was a continuation of those struggles.
Her final score of 67.39 points will make it difficult for her to chase down Nakai’s 78.71 during the free skate Thursday. American teammate and former world champion Alysa Liu is in bronze medal position with 76.59 points.
Beyond the ice, Glenn has generated plenty of headlines during the Winter Olympics. She spoke out before competition began about how the queer community is going through a “hard time” amid the political climate under President Donald Trump. Glenn also ran into a copyright issue — and resolved it — with her use of the song “The Return” in her free skate routine.
Glenn’s presence at these Olympics even caught Madonna’s eye.
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Isabeau Levito, the third American woman in the competition, finished in eighth place with 70.84 points in the short program. The trio of Glenn, Liu and Levito, who call themselves the “Blade Angels,” are looking to win the first U.S. Olympic medal in women’s singles since Sasha Cohen in 2006 and potentially the first gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Glenn may have lost her chance to do that during the short program, but Liu will have an opportunity during the free skate Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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