After years of trauma, Amber Glenn and other U.S. stars are grateful skating is changing

"At 26, Amber Glenn is the oldest U.S. women's singles skater to make the Olympic team since 1928, challenging the sport's youth-centered tradition. The ISU raised the minimum age limit to 17 after a doping scandal, allowing older skaters extended careers and better mental health protection. Glenn's triumph over depression and an eating disorder shows how the sport is finally prioritizing skaters' well-being alongside athletic achievement and technical excellence."

"Amber Glenn thought her chance for the Olympics was already gone. She was 9. "I wasn't always considered one of the top," Glenn said, "so I never thought that I'd be skating past, like, 20 years old or something because you don't usually see that." The 26-year-old, who is making her Olympic debut, jokes that she's "a dinosaur" in women's singles skating. But as women's figure skating opens a new era with a minimum age limit of 17, 20-something champions could soon become common again."

Amber Glenn, age 26, is the oldest U.S. women's singles skater to make an Olympic team since 1928. The International Skating Union raised the minimum age limit to 17 after the Kamila Valieva doping scandal. The increased age aims to protect skaters' physical, mental, and emotional health and to allow longer careers. Glenn overcame depression and an eating disorder to reach the Olympics. The change opens the possibility of more 20-something champions in women's figure skating. Valieva's positive test and appeals highlighted pressures on adolescent athletes; her results were later withdrawn in 2024. NBC commentator Johnny Weir described the age-limit decision as "clever."

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