The 2026 Winter Olympics are in full swing, and Amber Glenn took to the ice on Tuesday, February 17, on the road to securing a gold medal for Team USA. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
When taking the ice for her individual program on Tuesday, Glenn “bailed out of one of her jumps that went down as an ‘invalid element’ on the scoresheet,” The Athletic notes. At the end of the Olympic women’s short program, Glenn was 13th place with 67.39 points. That’s far lower than expected, especially for a skater poised to get the gold.
Olympic Figure Skater Amber Glenn Cries After Short Program
To see all of that hard work go up in smoke is a difficult thing, and Glenn didn’t hide her emotions after the run. After she failed to do one of her jumps, she clearly had a change in confidence, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to finish high on the board. When Glenn’s performance ended, she stayed on the ice with a heartbreaking look on her face.
“After her program, she clutched the necklaces on her burgundy lace dress and knelt at center ice. She broke down in tears when she hugged her coach,” the Los Angeles Times reported in a feature that went up immediately after her showing.
The L.A. Times adds, “She sat in the kiss-and-cry area for several extra seconds with her head bowed after her score was announced to process her performance.”
What Does Amber Glenn Make at the Olympics?
Even though Glenn now has a very small chance of getting old in the individual competition, she has a gold with her female figure skating partners in Team USA. So, what does Glenn receive for her gold medal that she won with the women’s figure staking team?
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, every other major world power gives retirement stipends, pensions or grants to its Olympians, but not the U.S. Instead, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee receives no federal funding and relies on other payment sources for its athletes.
The USOPC, according to research on their official website, gave $16 million in grants for stipends of 1,565 athletes in 2022. With their “Operation Gold,” an initiative started in 2017, U.S. Olympians who get medals win prize payments.
Going by the Olympic Paris numbers, when any U.S. Olympian wins gold, they get $37,500 for every gold medal. For a silver medal, athletes get $22,500, and for a bronze medal, it’s $15,000.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games-year operating surplus allows the USOPC to run a deficit in non-Games years and provides a consistent level of support for athletes during each year of the four-year quadrennial budget cycle,” the Committee stated on its website. They added, “Under that cycle, both revenue and expenses, which have a direct impact on supporting Team USA athletes, generally increase in Games years versus non-Games years.”
Amber Glenn in Tears After Olympic Program Goes Sour