The 2026 Winter Olympics have been filled with heartbreak for Team USA’s figure skaters, from Ilia Malinin’s disastrous free skate during the men’s individual competition to scoring controversies, and most recently when Amber Glenn fumbled on the ice and fell during her short program routine. Now Glenn has received a penalty for her final jump in her performance that has likely pushed her out of gold medal contention when the women’s competition resumes with the free skate event on February 19, 2026.
The 26-year-old from Plano, Texas went into the women’s competition as a favorite for the gold medal, but fans and spectators alike saw her hopes dashed when she fell during her routine on the ice. However, Glenn’s fall wasn’t as catastrophic to her podium chances as a much more nuanced technicality that only those attuned within the skating world could likely have noticed at the time it occurred. That penalty resulted in a score of zero for Glenn.
Glenn Completed the Wrong Number of Rotations During Her Last Jump
GettyUSA’s Amber Glenn competes in the figure skating women’s single skating short program during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 17, 2026.
Amber Glenn began her short program routine by landing an impressive triple axel jump and several combination jumps, but it was her final jump that cost her the full scores for her jump sequences in her skating program. Glenn powered up for her final jump which was intended to be a triple loop jump, let alone a triple loop jump that wasn’t paired in combination – AKA quick sequential jumps – with any other airborne skills in her routine.
To complete the triple loop jump, all that Glenn needed to do was take off from the outside edge of one foot coming from a backwards direction, complete three full rotations in the air, and then land on the same foot. While that skill might seem extremely daunting to non-skaters, Glenn’s previous elements in her short program were far more advanced than the triple loop so she was set up for making her final jump with ease.
When she went for the concluding jump, though, Glenn only spun for two full rotations in the air and ultimately only completed a double loop jump.
Glenn Received an Invalid Element Penalty for Her Final Short Program Jump
GettyTeam USA’s Amber Glenn cries after receiving a penalty during the women’s short program figure skating event at the Winter Olympics
Since Amber Glenn completed a double loop jump for her final airborne element during her short program routine, rather than the triple loop jump that she’d intended to complete, she fell victim to the “Invalid Element” rule and received zero points for her final jump because it was not the required standalone triple rotation jump her routine needed to fulfill the requirements of the women’s short program competition.
Because Glenn did not complete the standalone triple jump she needed to meet all of the necessary elements for the women’s short program, she received zero points for her final double loop jump as the judges classified it as an invalid element. It may not seem as though losing points on a single element out of many in a skating routine is that influential, but in the women’s short program the jump elements are worth more points than any other skill. Therefore, the “Invalid Element” penalty Team USA’s Amber Glenn was given has pushed her out of medal contention.
Amber Glenn Likely Out of Gold Medal Contention Due to Penalty