Amber Glenn’s season had been a rollercoaster! The kind where you’re flying high, thinking nothing can go wrong, and then bam– the drop hits. At 25, she had cracked the code, balancing intense training while staying undefeated internationally. A Grand Prix champion and two-time U.S. champ, Glenn was making history back to back. Her triple Axel? A jaw-dropper. Her artistry? Changing the game. Fans had been buzzing all season, whispering. Could this finally be the year an American woman ends the 20-year world title drought? So did she?

Well, on Wednesday at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, reality hit hard. Glenn had been nailing her triple Axel all week in practice, but when it mattered most, things took a turn. She took the ice for her short program. And everything seemed on point until she went for that all-important triple Axel. Her right shoulder got ahead of her mid-rotation, throwing off her balance.

One missed landing, and she was on the ice. Just like that, Amber Glenn plummeted to 10th place with a score of 67.75. Meanwhile, her American teammate Alysa Liu stole the spotlight, scoring a personal best 74.58 and taking the lead. Just like that, Glenn’s dream of a world title is hanging by a thread. “I’m obviously very disappointed right now,” Glenn admitted, her voice laced with frustration.

“It’s always hard to come back after a fall. My coach, Damon Allen, told me after the skate that he was proud of me for pulling through with the rest of the performance, but of course, I’m still disappointed.” She’d been unstoppable all season. Yet everything fell apart when it mattered the most. Now, with the free skate looming on Friday night, fans are hoping for a miracle.

Right now, as Amber Glenn is sitting in 10th place, the odds aren’t exactly in her favor. Climbing back to the top from that position is already a tall order, but adding to the injury factor, things get even more complicated. But now, with the pressure of being the reigning U.S. champion and the weight of expectations on her shoulders, the mental strain is just as heavy.

But beyond the standings and the scores, Glenn’s impact stretches beyond the rink. When asked about the pride flag on her jacket, her words resonated deeply. “I’m happy to be a representative of a community and to be a voice to a community that doesn’t have much of a voice in the world right now,” she said. But with the pressure mounting as a reigning champion and her position in the standings shaky, the road ahead isn’t easy. But Amber knows a thing or two about battling through adversity.

Amber Glenn’s fight through adversity

Amber Glenn had to fight her way back from not one but two severe concussions that nearly derailed her career since 2020. One happened during choreography practice when she collided with another skater, leaving her unconscious with a black eye and a broken orbital bone. The other? A freak accident at the gym left her with the same brutal outcome, but on the opposite side of her skull.

She was taken totally off guard in both of those incidents. But she wasn’t one to give up easily. No, instead, she had some discussions with a sports psychologist and came to a conclusion. The decision was to take a deep dive into neurotherapy. This led to her getting treatments that retrained her brain as well as allowed her to calm her sympathetic nervous system. And let’s just say it worked.

Fast forward to December 2024, and Amber Glenn made history as the first U.S. female figure skater in 14 years to win the ISU Grand Prix Final, taking home gold in Grenoble, France. Glenn believes that no matter how big or small the challenge, emotions can hit just as hard. After riding the rollercoaster of highs, lows, and everything in between, here’s hoping she climbs back to the top once again!