Amber Glenn becomes first openly LGBTQ+ woman to win US figure skating
Newsy
The 24-year-old says she realizes this special moment is not only for her, but also for her peers in the LGBTQ+ community.
Amber Glenn triple-axeled her way into the history books at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
Glenn is the first openly queer figure skater to take the top spot at the Figure Skating Championships. Glenn has come close before (earning third place last year, and second place in 2021), but this is her first gold.
The 24-year-old champion first shared her queer identity with the public in 2019. Glenn, who is pansexual and bisexual, initially feared that coming out as being part of the LGBTQ+ community would harm her career.
“The fear of not being accepted is a huge struggle for me,” Glenn told the Dallas Voice in 2019. “Being perceived as [going through] ‘just a phase’ or [being] ‘indecisive’ is a common thing for bisexual/pansexual women. I don’t want to shove my sexuality in people’s faces, but I also don’t want to hide who I am.”
Later, in October 2023, she told the Dallas Voice that the reaction to her coming out has been largely positive.
