Amber Glenn, who already nabbed her first gold medal during the team figure skating event during the 2026 Olympics last week, has been through a lot to make it to the Winter Games.
A huge reason for Glenn’s turnaround over the past four years is her coach Damon Allen. After parting ways with longtime coaches, Darlene and Peter Cain, she moved from her home in Texas to train with Allen at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2022.
Allen added fellow coach Tammy Gambill and choreographers Katherine Hill and Kaitlyn Weaver to the team. “Soon after Amber moved out here, Damon kind of sidled up to me one day and said, ‘I have a new student,'” Hill recalled to ESPN. “You could tell how excited he was about it.”
Allen recalled of his conversation with Glenn at the time, “She said, ‘All right, we’re going to keep going. Let’s do it. Let’s go.’ That was really the moment where she verbally put it out there and said, ‘Yep, we’re going to try and get to the Olympics.'”
Glenn, unfortunately, stumbled in her short program. While she landed her triple axel, the 26-year-old stumbled on the final jump, completing a double instead of the required triple loop. Glenn skated off the ice in tears and immediately hugged Allen. She enters the final free skate on Thursday in 13th place.
Amber Glenn’s Coach Damon Allen Told Her to ‘Breathe’ Before Her Olympic Debut
GettyU.S. figure skater Amber Glenn competes in the figure skating women’s single skating short program during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Glenn brought a full support team with her to Milan. In addition to her coach, Glenn’s parents traveled to Italy, along with her sports psychologist and physical therapist.
“My strategy is trying to make her feel as close to being at her normal training facility mentally,” Allen told Time magazine.
The 26-year-old keeps a detailed log of her training sessions, noting how many jumps and triple axels she lands. Glenn mapped out a 20-schedule for her time in Milan and sent it via a long text to Allen.
“My reply test was all in uppercase: BREATHE,” Allen said. “It’s Amber’s world and I am just kind of living in it.”
Damon Allen First Noticed Amber Glenn’s ‘Great Potential’ Over a Decade Ago
GettyU.S. figure skater Amber Glenn and her coach Damon Allen.
Long before Glenn moved to Colorado Springs, Allen first took notice of the young figure skater after she competed at the U.S. junior national championship at age 14.
“She immediately stood out from the rest with her power, her speed and her tenacity,” Allen told ESPN. “She just had such great potential.” He’s even more in awe over her work ethic.
“She’s always been well-trained and capable of great programs, but before she would make a mistake [in competition] and then get into this high-anxiety setting and then not be able to get off of the hamster wheel [the rest of the performance],” Allen said. “But this has helped her focus. Now if she makes a mistake, she knows it’s not the end of the world. She’s able to just get right back in it and not let it ruin the rest of the program.”
Damon Allen: Amber Glenn’s Coach’s 1-Word Text Before Olympic Skate