Amber Glenn shares why she started crying for record-setting US ice-skating routine

Amber Glenn made quite a statement before the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Squaring off with fellow United States figure skating star Alysa Liu, Glenn and Liu put on quite a show last night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with flawless performances, culminating with Glenn, 26, setting a record score for a nationals short routine, 83.05.

Glenn is the reigning two-time national champion, but she's at an advanced age by figure skating standards to be pursuing her first Olympics. Liu is 20, and we can't leave out Isabeau Levito, who also had a strong performance last night, who is only 18.

Jan. 7, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, UNITED STATES; Alysa Liu skates in the women's short program during the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

All three will become household names next month for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

Jan. 7, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, UNITED STATES; Isabeau Levito skates in the women's short program during the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Glenn reveals why she got especially emotional last night

Glenn had a priceless reaction when the record-setting score was revealed, and when she landed the extremely difficult triple axel in her routing, the crowd, and apparently the judges too, were equally was amazed.

The Plano, Texas native, revealed why she was extra emotional last night, crying before her routine started.

"This is one of my most enjoyable experiences ever," Glenn said. "I feel ecstatic. The score was huge. I was not expecting that. And I felt just like something with me, and I started crying before I even skated. My grandma passed [away] last year, and she was with me from day one in my skating. I just felt it today, and I'm not usually one of those people that says that. But I just felt like I had something helping me today through the nerves. And I feel like that presence was there with me."

Shocking American drought in the Winter Olympics

There are three spots up for grabs for the Winter Olympics, and naturally Glenn, Liu, and Levito will become household names next month.

Unbelievably, it has been 20 years since an American woman has won an Olympic figure-skating medal, let alone a gold medal.

Needless to say if Glenn puts on more performances like she did last night, she might be crying a whole lot more as an Olympic gold medalist, making grandma extremely proud.

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