Admitting her sexual orientation was a liberating experience for her and also the beginning of her most successful period as an athlete.
25.01.2026 10:54
Photo: MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP / Profimedia
Amber Glenn will be among the favorites to win a medal at the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina.
American figure skater Amber Glenn returned to her coming out. “Coming out publicly as bisexual and pansexual changed my life. On the ice. Off the ice,” she said in an interview with NBC.
To be precise, pansexuality is a sexual identity defined as a potential attraction (sexual, romantic, emotional) to all individuals regardless of their gender and gender identity.
The 26-year-old figure skater will represent the USA at the February Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. “That statement really set me free. I no longer felt pressured to be someone else.”
Read more How much will Slovaks get for gold or for 8th place? The rewards for results at the Olympics are known
Glenn is currently unstoppable in her sports career. She won her third straight United States title this month, making her one of women’s figure skating’s biggest medal hopes at the Olympics.
She could become the first American since 2006 to win an Olympic medal among women. What’s more, according to the website Outsports, Glenn would become the first openly bisexual woman to compete in figure skating at the Olympics.
It all started in 2019. At that time, Glenn publicly supported Texas figure skater Timothy LeDuc, who admitted his homosexuality and won a national title in pairs. In connection with this, she has publicly identified herself as bisexual and pansexual. “I don’t want to shove my sexuality in anyone’s face, but I also don’t want to hide who I am,” the American said at the time.
Read more Emotional confession of fellow star Shiffrin: I can’t compete in the Olympics because I’m a woman
Glenn didn’t expect much attention. “I thought, ‘This is just a small step, barely noticed. It was just the local paper,'” she told NBC. “The next day it was international news.”
The intensity of the reactions surprised her. But in hindsight, gratitude prevails. “I didn’t expect it to explode like that,” she said. “But I’m grateful because my message reached so many people. I was able to represent a lot of people in figure skating, especially queer women,” added Glenn.
