For the first time in her senior career, Amber Glenn is the U.S. women's figure skating champion.
Having finished on the podium at national championships several times in the past, including a third-place finish last year, her total score of 210.46 was enough to finally give Glenn the gold medal. It was her sixth U.S. Championship appearance.
Glenn's win makes her the first openly LGBTQ+ skater to win the U.S. women's title.
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“It’s incredible to be the first openly queer women champion,” Glenn said. “When I originally came out I was terrified and worried it would affect my results or something, but I didn’t care. It's been rewarding over the last few years to see how many young people feel more comfortable in their surroundings at the rink.”
From left, second-place Josephine Lee, first-place Amber Glenn and third-place Isabeau Levito stand on the podium at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Josephine Lee secured the silver medal with a total score of 204.13, but it was Isabeau Levito who was tied with Glenn after Thursday's short programs. Levito was first in the free skate and Glenn was less than half a point behind in second. Neither showed their best performance on Friday evening.
While Glenn was able to perform her triple axel early in the program, there were a few missed elements later in the performance that cost her points.
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“I was just disappointed in myself again because I knew I could have done a little bit more and I had the confidence to do a little bit more in the second half,” Glenn said. “From feeling like my success was fading to realizing I had it, it was obviously a mix of luck. This wasn’t exactly how I wanted to win my first national title, but I’m incredibly grateful for it.”
Amber Glenn's total score of 210.46 earned her the gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Since Levito competed at the conclusion of the event, it was an opportunity for her to exit as national champion for the second year in a row. However, from the start of her skating, Levito struggled and suffered a few falls that resulted in a four-point deduction and a third-place finish.
“That evening kind of felt like a fever dream,” Levito said. “It was so difficult to defend the title and I think the first time I made that mistake it kind of woke me up.”
Isabeau Levito skates to the women's medal ceremony, where she won bronze, at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Nationwide Arena.
This audience was treated to another piece of history in the women's free skate program during Mia Kalin's performance at the start of the event. Although she didn't manage to finish on the podium, the 15-year-old became the first woman to cleanly land a quadruple jump (a four-turn skill also called a “quad”) at the U.S. Championships.
During a competition at Nationwide Arena, Mia Kalin became the first woman to cleanly land a quadruple jump at the U.S. Championships.
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Short program for men
Ilia Malinin put himself in the perfect position to defend his 2023 title with a score of 108.57 in the short program on Friday.
Malinin finished nearly 20 points better than runner-up Maxim Naumov, who scored a total of 89.72 points, and recorded the largest lead in U.S. Figure Skating Championship history after the short program portion of the men's event.
Although there was no quad axel to put Malinin in the record books in 2022, the 19-year-old still lived up to his “Quad God” nickname by executing two more quad skills.
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“The spectators who come here sometimes fly or drive far away to actually watch us skate,” Malinin said. “We just have a lot of appreciation for them. … If we try to do our best in front of them, that’s really a way to show that.”
Ilia Malinin secured a lead of nearly 20 points after the men's short program at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Jason Brown, the former Olympian and 2015 U.S. champion, was another fan favorite in the men's event. The 29-year-old didn't have his best short program in Columbus, having a point deducted for a fall that dropped him to third place, but he's no stranger to bumps in the road, the veteran remaining positive after his performance.
“I love the U.S. Championships,” Brown said. “It feels like a homecoming every year when I come back year after year. As far as my performance goes, I felt great out there. Of course, starting on the butt isn't ideal, but I love the fight until the end.”
Jason Brown prepares to perform in the men's short program during the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Nationwide Arena.
The next two competitions that will crown their champion are ice dancing and pair dancing, both with their long program on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Figure skater Amber Glenn became the first LGBTQ+ woman to win the U.S. title