There is no pressure in sports like the Olympics, where years of preparation culminate in a competition that lasts minutes or even seconds, and one small mistake can crush an athlete’s dreams.
If a person fails to achieve their goals, they may or may not face another opportunity to achieve their goals four grueling years later. Few sports at the Olympics embody this pressure as well as figure skating, where skaters leap, spin and glide across the ice with all eyes on the field and millions of people from around the world watching on television. There are missteps at every turn.
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Amber Glenn’s “Heartbreaking” Short Program
U.S. skater Amber Glenn experienced just such a blunder on Tuesday night. A technical error in her short program caused her score to drop, threatening her Olympic dreams and leaving her in tears after the program.
It wasn’t an obvious gaffe or fall that left her sprawled on the ice. Instead of executing the planned three rings, she executed a double ring. This is enough to disable the element and eliminate all seven potential points attached to it.
That dropped her from medal contention and expectations all the way to 13th, leaving her needing perfection in Thursday’s free skate and plenty of mistakes by skaters before her to get back into contention.
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Glenn learned the consequences after scoring a double near the end of her regular season. Her face and body language told the story, as the energy and joy that marked the beginning of her skating disappeared.
When she finished, she broke down in tears on the ice and sought a comforting hug from her coach.
Glenn opens up
She returned to the ice Wednesday to practice for Thursday’s free skate. In post-skating agony, she bypassed the media coverage and explained to reporters how Tuesday night felt for her.
“I’ve been known to put my heart out there, which makes me relatable, but it also makes it hard for me to hide my feelings,” Glenn told Time. “In that moment, I felt heartbroken. Because I had done the hard thing, and the simplest thing, my favorite jump, was taken away from me.” “
Glenn then appeared to refer to a moment in Monday’s men’s downhill skiing event when gold medal contender Artelle McGrath missed a slalom gate and was immediately disqualified in his second of two races. He responded by throwing away his ski poles, taking off his skis, walking off the track and into the nearby woods.
“You can’t fix it,” Glenn continued. “I don’t really skate like you see in other sports where you make one mistake and you’re screwed, you just kind of [go] Go into the woods.
“I wish I could do that. But they want you to smile, they want you to still perform like you’re having the time of your life, when really your dream is just shattered.”
Medal hopeful or not, Glenn is ready to get back to the fun of skating on Olympic ice in Thursday’s free skate.
(Julian de Rosa, Getty Images)
Glenn doesn’t blame Olympic pressure
Glenn said her mistake was not the result of Olympic pressure. Sometimes things just happen, she explained.
“It’s not pressure on me, it’s just a literal lack of balance,” Glenn said. “Like, I lost my balance for a moment. And, you know, something happened.”
Glen is an outspoken mental health advocate who has opened up about her struggles with depression and anxiety. She doesn’t hide her feelings. For those familiar with her story, it wasn’t surprising to see her reveal her emotions Tuesday night.
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She said Wednesday it wasn’t the realization that her chances of an Olympic medal were slim that made her uneasy. But after her fateful double lap, she lost the joy of skating on Olympic ice.
Glenn plans to regain “happiness” in free skate
Medal or not, regaining the joy of skating on Olympic ice was her goal for Thursday’s free skate.
“I’m frustrated because I’m missing out on the happiness and enjoyment of being on the ice and saying, ‘I fought for everything and I did everything I could,'” Glenn said. “That’s all I really want and that’s what I’m missing out on.”
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“That’s what I hope to do tomorrow. When I was little, I always imagined myself doing spirals and looking up like, ‘I’m at the Olympics.’ That’s what I want.” “
