Amber Glenn will make history at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, when she represents Team USA in figure skating. At 26 years old, Glenn is set to break a record as the oldest U.S. women's singles skater to compete at the Olympics in 98 years - and will also blaze trails in her sport as the first-ever openly pansexual women's figure skater to compete for Team USA at the Olympics. Glenn's epic journey to Milan and Cortina has seen her triumph over physical and emotional adversity, including taking a high-publicized break from the sport in 2015 to check into a mental health facility. The athlete subsequently made an incredible comeback as she entered the 2026 Winter Olympics with a historic three straight U.S. National Championship wins. Glenn is one-third of a powerhouse U.S. women's figure skating team representing the U.S. at Milan and Cortina alongside fellow 'Blade Angels' Isabeau Levito and Alysa Liu. Behind-the-Scenes on Team USA's Dramatic Journey to the 2026 Winter Olympics "If we do our jobs in Milan, then more than likely someone is going to be up there [accepting a medal]," Glenn predicted in a press conference. Keep scrolling for more on Glenn's incredible life and career. Amber Glenn Was Inspired to Skate by Iconic Olympian Sarah Hughes Ahead of the 2026 Winter Games, Amber Glenn revealed to People that her first "Olympic memory" was watching Sarah Hughes' gold medal-winning performance at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. (Hughes clinched the gold in a competitive field that also included two Team USA teammates, bronze medal winner Michelle Kwan and fourth-place finisher Sasha Cohen, as well as Russia's silver medalist Irina Slutskaya.) "I remember watching Sarah Hughes in the 2002 Olympics quite a few years after it happened on DVD on my little Cinderella TV and just the exhilaration and excitement," Glenn remembered. Glenn insisted on emulating Hughes and tried "to skate as fast as I could," though her mom made her always wear a helmet, elbow and knee pads on the ice as a child. "I wanted to try all the hard things that I saw the older girls trying. And I did, hence the helmet," she said. "And I never stopped. I just kept going." Glenn ultimately won the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championship at age 14 in 2014. Amber Glenn Broke a Record Previously Held by Michelle Kwan Amber Glenn continued to follow in the footsteps of the 2002 Team USA figure skating squad with her record-breaking run at the U.S. National Championships. Her three straight U.S. National Championships between 2024 and 2026 made Glenn the first American to win three consecutive national titles since Michelle Kwan. (Prior to Kwan's eight straight U.S. Figure Skating Championship wins from 1998 to 2005, other legendary skaters such as Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Fleming also achieved three straight Nationals wins in the past.) Glenn's 2026 National Championship victory propelled her to a personal best score of 150.50 in the free skate. "I'm still in disbelief, honestly," Glenn told U.S. Figure Skating of her latest success in January 2026. "The ladies were on fire this competition, and I couldn't be more proud of how far we've come as far as Team USA. I had, of course, a performance of my life on Wednesday and was so happy with it and going forward I want to bring the same energy to my free skate." She credited her victory at the 2026 National Championships with staying "calm" and "handl[ing] the pressure well." "I want to get that same exciting feeling that I did in the short program into the free skate going forward," she added. Amber Glenn Took a Break from Competition to Focus on Her Mental Health While still a teenager, Amber Glenn took an extended break from junior skating to check into a mental health facility in 2015. She told NBC's Today a decade later that she'd been in "a very dark place" before seeking help. "I eventually was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, [and an] eating disorder. One of my friends contacted one of my parents and I sought help, and I'm so grateful for that," she said in June 2015. "Eventually, I got to a place to where I was doing things in a healthy way and I could speak about my struggles." Olympic Athletes: Where Are They Now? Glenn felt it was important to speak out about her experiences in order to assure young athletes facing similar issues that they are not alone. "I think growing up, I saw the top skaters as untouchable and as these people who didn't have the same struggles that I was having at that age. Eventually, I got a peek behind the curtain and they were struggling in silence," she said. "After seeing that, I realized that it was more important for me to be honest about my journey than to try and act like everything was perfect." Amber Glenn Suffered Serious Health Problems Amber Glenn suffered a series of physical setbacks on her road to the Milan and Cortina Olympics in February 2026. She withdrew from Olympic contention in 2022 after testing positive f