MILAN — The most disheartening aspect of Amber Glenn’s performance wasn’t her failure to execute an element, which critically damaged her score. Rather, it was that the most challenging segment of her program had already concluded before this misstep occurred.
Glenn, the current U.S. titleholder, came to Milan aspiring to claim an individual gold. A mere two critical seconds during her women’s short program on the ice probably shattered that aspiration for this year, a reality she comprehended instantly.
Glenn had successfully performed her triple axel, a maneuver so complex that only one other competitor on Tuesday’s ice, Japan’s Ami Nakai, who led the evening, managed it. The triple axel is an exceptionally challenging leap, involving a forward entry and a backward landing, necessitating a precise 3½ rotations. Glenn stands among the scarce female skaters possessing the strength for this, and her execution of this element surpassed Nakai’s.
However, moments later, Glenn tried a triple loop, a jump she has perfected countless times, and one that all participants in Tuesday’s program are capable of executing. Yet, for an unclear reason—be it apprehension, the surface, or chance—she faltered, completing only a double loop. Consequently, according to the strict metrics of figure skating judgment, she received zero points for that endeavor.
If she had successfully landed the triple loop, even with a standard score, she would have concluded the program approximately in fifth place, poised to contend for a medal. Instead, the nullification of points decimated her score, relegating her to 13th position, over 11 points adrift of Nakai.
Beneath the stands, observing on a screen, Alysa Liu, Glenn’s teammate from the Blade Angels, gasped, immediately understanding the situation. She quietly witnessed Glenn push through the concluding 80 seconds of her short program, a small, harsh ‘X’ marring the display of Glenn’s marks.
Glenn performs to Madonna’s track “Like A Prayer,” a powerful song expressing yearning, connection, and conviction. She has perfected this routine throughout the season, employing it to secure victory at the U.S. nationals in St. Louis the previous month. Madonna personally recorded a brief message, urging Glenn to harness the song’s spirit towards a gold medal. Her routine’s design was precisely intended for this outcome.
As “Like a Prayer” transitions from its uplifting choral part into its rhythmic dance beat, Glenn typically initiates the more expressive segment of her performance. However, on Tuesday evening, her gaze appeared distant, her facial expression fixed and unsmiling. She executed her routine mechanically, relying on ingrained movements, with the sharpness of her choreography having vanished.
Glenn concluded her spin, coming to a halt on the Milano-Cortina emblem, with her right knee resting on the ice and her arms extended to her sides. On a more favorable occasion, this pose suggests an offering of herself to the audience; on Tuesday, it conveyed a desperate plea for assistance.
While the surrounding spectators applauded and waved banners, and as Ilia Malinin and Snoop Dogg attempted to uplift her from afar, tears started to stream. By the moment she arrived at the rink’s perimeter, her shoulders were shaking with sorrow, as years of aspirations, visions, and earnest wishes now seemed to have evaporated on the ice.
“It is comprehensible,” Liu remarked concerning Glenn’s profound disappointment. “She possesses immense resilience, enabling her to cope.”
Glenn conducted a concise television interview for NBC, providing brief responses with a barely controlled expression. Subsequently, she proceeded past a group of journalists without uttering a word, her despair clearly evident.
“She has endured a great deal and truly applies herself with extraordinary effort, genuinely,” Liu commented, wearing a poignant, empathetic smile. “My sole desire is for her contentment. That is truly everything I wish for.”
