US figure skater Amber Glenn is set to make LGBTQ+ history as she prepares for the Winter Olympics in Italy next month.

Glenn, who is openly pansexual and bisexual, will be the first openly queer figure skater to compete at the Winter Olympics, which kick off on February 6.

The skater secured her spot on the US team after competing at the 2026 US Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, earlier this month. At the competition, Glenn won the short program – set to ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna – and the free skate in the Women’s Singles event. This competition also saw Glenn secure her third consecutive national title.

This year’s Winter Olympics will be her first time competing at the games, after Covid-19 forced her to withdraw from the 2022 US Championships.

Now, she has her sights set on Olympic glory, alongside her teammates, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito.

 

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After competing at the US Championships, she said: “Whether it’s the team event or the singles event, all we have to do is do our job. As long as we do our programs to the best for our abilities. We cannot control the outcome. But I think the U.S. ladies have come so, so far in the last two decades that if all three of us do our jobs in Milan, then more than likely someone’s gonna be up there. As long as we all stick to what we do best, then we will break that drought.”

Glenn first came out as pansexual in December 2019, and has since become a beacon of hope for LGBTQ+ skating fans, who often bring Pride flags to her events.

She subsequently told Adam Rippon and Chase Cain, hosts of My New Favourite Olympian and My Favourite Paralympian podcast, that she made the decision to come out in order to be a role model for other LGBTQ+ skaters.

“I got a peek behind the curtain and realised everyone’s struggling, they just don’t talk about it,” she said. “That’s when I decided I wanted to be honest about who I am, because I didn’t want the next generation to go through what I did.

“I remember skating my first competition after coming out and seeing Pride flags in the audience. People were cheering louder than ever. I almost started crying before I even skated. It was one of the most emotional performances of my life. I felt so free.”