Meet the two Texans who just made the U.S. Olympic figure skating team

Amber Glenn and Emily Chan are representing the Lone Star State on the world’s biggest stage for winter sports.
Two Texas-natives are officially competing in the Winter Olympics as members of the U.S. Figure Skating team. 

Following the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, Missouri on Sunday, Amber Glenn and Emily Chan were announced as members of the team. It will be each of their first appearances in the Winter Olympic games. 

Amber Glenn

Glenn, a 26-year-old from Plano, Texas, out of the Dallas Figure Skating Club will compete in women’s singles after winning her third consecutive national championship on Sunday. She’s the first woman to win three consecutive national titles since Michelle Kwan from 2003-05.

It’s been since 2002 since an American woman has won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating, and Glenn is the favorite to be next. During the championships this weekend, Glenn’s opening triple axel to a finishing combination spin in the short program earned 83.05 points, a record score for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships women’s short program. Her overall title also included a personal best in the free skate with 150.50 points, beating out World Champion and teammate Alysa Liu.

Glenn is known as an innovator in the sport as the first openly queer woman to compete on the U.S. women’s figure skating team.

But what also makes her unique is her uncharacteristic style of skating. Over the years, she’s challenged the idea of being an “ice princess,” dancing in rhinestone pants instead of the traditional dress to songs like, “Heads will roll,” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Papa Roach’s “Scars,” to embrace her struggles with mental health.

Glenn sacrificed a traditional upbringing to achieve her dream. She’s been home schooled since the second grade, often competing with women older than her whom she couldn’t relate. She often felt isolated in her teenage years, battling depression and an eating disorder that led to an admittance into a mental health facility at 16, according to the Washington Post. She was later diagnosed with ADHD after several mishaps in free skate competitions, where she’d lose her focus and rhythm during the 4-minute long routine.

Still, Glenn’s journey to this moment has been longer than expected. She was on the brink of making the U.S. Olympic team in 2022 but tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the U.S. Championships, forcing her to withdraw from the competition. She was named an alternate to the team.

Emily Chan

Chan, a 28-year-old who grew up in Pasadena, Texas, will compete in the pairs division of the Winter Olympics alongside partner Spencer Akira Howe.

Chan has spent the majority of her life in Texas, beginning her career with the Dallas Skating Club and graduating valedictorian of the Texas Online Preparatory School, but she currently skates with the Skating Club of Boston.

Chan and Howe needed a little stroke of luck to make the team. The pair placed eighth after the short program after Chan took a tumble but made up for it with a stunning third place-finish in the free skate to take fourth overall.

But the extra nudge up the standings is because Alisa Efimova, a Finnish-born skater, and Daniil Parkman, a Russian-born skater, are awaiting their expedited requests for American citizenship. Efimova, who is partnered with Misha Mitrofanov, took first in the U.S. championship, while Parkman, who is partnered with Katie McBeath, took third.

The pair has had its ups and downs recently.

Following a silver finish in the 2023 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Chan and Howe withdrew from competition during the 2024 championships due to injury. The pair was still named to the World Championship team that competed in Quebec that year but came in 12th after issues with their throws and spins during the short program.

Chan was a junior national champion singles skater in 2016 before committing to pairs full-time.