The triple Axel is the first and hardest jump in Amber Glenn’s programs, the jump only she completed in Wednesday’s short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague.
It is a high-value jump of such relative difficulty that Japan’s Ami Nakai, the Olympic bronze medalist, was the only other woman among the 33 total competitors even to attempt it, and Nakai managed just a double.
It is also a jump that Glenn now has mastered, landing 12 of 13 attempts this season prior to worlds, getting positive grades of execution (GOEs) on all but three.
But when Glenn found herself leaning too far forward on the Axel takeoff after having botched two of three attempts in the warm-up before the short, you could understand why this talented skater who has battled self-doubt throughout her long career might begin to wonder if this was going to be déjà vu all over again.
FIGURE SKATING WORLDS: Full Results | Broadcast Schedule
Would her chances at a medal disappear after a big mistake in the short program, as had happened in last month’s Olympics and at previous world championships, when she had to go into the free skate looking for redemption rather than hardware?
“WHOA!” Glenn said to herself Wednesday during the triple Axel, collecting her thoughts and her equanimity. “I’m not going to lose my balance. I’m going to do this thing.”
And she did.
The three-time U.S. champion finished third in the short program with 72.65 points, just ahead of teammate Isabeau Levito (72.16) Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto (79.31) of Japan and her teammate, Mone Chiba (78.45), are one-two going into Friday’s free skate (live on Peacock).
“It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t the cleanest, but I got the job done,” Glenn said.
Even though the Axel received a slightly negative GOE, and her next jumping pass, a combination, drew a larger penalty for not being fully rotated, Glenn kept the situation from getting out of hand.
She was more relieved than pleased with her performance Wednesday.
“To be in a good position and not feel like I am clawing my way back through the ranks and having to make this big comeback is really assuring,” Glenn said. “I’d rather not have to have that extra step of redemption and just be able to go out and do what I’ve been training to do every day.”
At the Olympics, she was 13th after the short, 9.2 points from third, before rallying to take third in the free and finish fifth overall, barely four points from a medal.
At 2025 Worlds, she was ninth after the short, 5.68 points from third, then took fourth in the free to get fifth overall, some nine points from third.
Olympic champion Alysa Liu of the U.S. chose not to defend her world title because her life has been a whirlwind of appearances and other commitments since she dazzled the world with brilliant skating and a sparkling personality in Milan.
Glenn took advantage of just one opportunity to celebrate her acclaim since returning from the Olympics, in which she won gold in the team event.
She walked the red carpet and was a presenter at the 37th GLAAD Media Awards, which honor “those in the media who have shown exemplary achievements for fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the LGBTQ community.”
“That event is something so special to my heart,” said Glenn, who has been out as pansexual since December 2019. “There were so many others I wanted to (do) so bad, but I knew it was not the responsible choice since I was competing at worlds.”
Glenn, 26, has won plaudits in the past several years for her general sense of responsibility.
That includes her willingness to stand up for what she believes, to speak out about mental health issues and issues that specifically concern female athletes, including competing on their period, which was the case for her in Milan. She since has become a partner with Kotex, a menstrual products manufacturer.
At the Olympics, she also won praise by shielding Sakamoto from cameramen eager to get closeups of the tearful Japanese skater, anguished after having had a couple of small mistakes cost her the gold medal. Glenn gestured insistently for them to back away.
“I appreciate the admiration from people about that, but at the end of the day, it’s just decency,” Glenn said.
When asked Wednesday about the incident, Sakamoto left Glenn with misty eyes and a full spirit, as the U.S. skater showed by tapping herself twice on the area of her heart.
“Usually, in our sport, when we are rivals, we tend to not get too close before the competition, but Amber broke that stereotype,” Sakamoto said through an interpreter.
“She is the kind of person who thinks, ‘What can I do?’ when she sees somebody in trouble or in pain. I speak for all the Japanese skaters (in saying) I think we’re very grateful she does.”
They have been competing with each other since a 2013 Junior Grand Prix event in nearby Ostrava.
This World Championships will be their last meeting, since Sakamoto is retiring as of its end on Sunday.
(Philip Hersh, who has covered figure skating at the last 13 Winter Olympics, is a special contributor to NBCSports.com)
