WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Amber Glenn has fought through so many injuries and mental roadblocks over the years that nobody would have thought less of her had she given up figure skating, the sport that has brought her so much stress yet so much joy.
One of the best hopes for an American medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the 25-year-old tackled head-on an eating disorder, which is all-too common in the sport. She has battled depression and learned to cope with ADHD, which at one point drove her to take eight months away from the ice. And she has become a popular champion for the LGBTQ community.
Now, at an age when many rivals contemplate retirement, Glenn has reached something approaching inner peace, and it has translated into a late-career revival. She has not lost in any competition in more than a year, last month becoming the first American to win the prestigious Grand Prix Final in nearly 15 years, and beginning Thursday night will attempt to defend her gold medal at the final U.S. Figure Skating Championships before the Milano-Cortina Games.
“It's taken many, many years to get to this point,” Glenn said. “I went through a point being just at my lowest, to recovering, to being at a place of stagnant — I was OK. I wasn't great but I was surviving, which isn't thriving, but I was surviving. I would have flare-ups, setbacks, things would happen. I was in a more delicate state but more stable than when it came crashing down.”
That was back in 2015 and '16, Glenn explained, when she was considered an up-and-coming prodigy, poised to follow in the footsteps of such American champions as Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, Kimmie Meissner and Rachael Flatt.
Instead, Glenn found herself in a mental health facility shortly before her first senior international competition. She went on to finish sixth at the Autumn Classic, but then stepped away from the sport entirely to focus on her personal well-being.
She didn't quit, though — not on figure skating or herself. And while there were still hurdles for Glenn to overcome, including a series of concussions, she began to see progress, and that gave her the confidence to keep going.
“As I came into my own and really did some reflection on who I am, and along with that the coming out, deciding to skate how I wanted to skate — not for the scores but for myself — and doing things like that even in my everyday life, it has been essential for my growth both mentally and in the sport,” Glenn said. "I would say I really came into my own my last couple years, and my crisis was '15-16, but luckily I had a lot of good resources, a lot of good tools and people I asked for help.
“And here I am now,” she said with a smile, “doing what I never thought I would be capable of.”
With her confidence soaring, Glenn began this season by winning the lower-level Lombardia Trophy and then triumphed at the Cup of China and Grand Prix de France; the first Grand Prix wins of her career. At the event in France, Glenn landed a triple axel in the short program and scored 78.14 points, the highest ever for an American woman.
At the Grand Prix Final in December, Glenn won both the short program and free skate to become the first American woman to win the event since Alissa Czisny stood upon the top step of the podium in 2010.
“It started with (last year's) national championships. There was the world championships, a break, and I didn't really know how to navigate being the champion,” Glenn said. “Then I got my first international win and it just kept going.”
Now, after the withdrawal of 2023 champ Isabeau Levito due to injury, Glenn is favored to win her second straight national title this week. Her biggest competition figures to be Alysa Liu, a 2022 Olympian in the midst of a comeback; two-time champ Bradie Tennell, who has been dealing with injuries of her own; and rising stars Sarah Everhardt and Elyce Lin-Gracey.
Two-time defending world champs Madison Chock and Evan Bates are even bigger favorites to win their fourth straight U.S. ice dance title, and their sixth overall. They have the world's top score this season of 219.85 points, which the 2022 Olympians set while winning their second consecutive Grand Prix Final.
Ellie Kam and Daniel O'Shea are the top pairs team following their fifth-place finish at the Grand Prix Final.
In the men's competition, 20-year-old Ilia Malinin — the reigning world champion and favorite to win Olympic gold in just over a year — could once again showcase the quad axel, a 4 1/2-revolution jump that only he has landed in competition.
His event wraps up four days of competition Sunday. Then comes the world championships in Boston in March, followed by ...
“The event that's 13 months away, I'm definitely excited for it. It's a little bit in the back of my mind,” Malinin said of the Winter Olympics. “I just want to get through this season, and when I get the down time between seasons, that's when I can begin planning my process and that strategic plan for it.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympicsAP
FILE - Amber Glenn, of the United States, performs her free skate routine at the world figure skating championships Friday, March 22, 2024, in Montreal. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
FILE - Amber Glenn holds her gold medal at the U.S. figure skating championships Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Series — a.k.a. the celebration of Shohei Ohtani — begins this week in a festive atmosphere. The Japanese two-way star is among the most beloved athletes in the world and coming off one of the best seasons in the history of Major League Baseball while earning his third MVP for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's easy to forget that almost exactly one year ago, his career was briefly on the rocks.
The Dodgers were playing the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, last March when a bombshell was revealed: Ohtani's interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara was being criminally investigated for ties to an illegal gambling ring and had stolen a huge amount of money from the baseball star.
Eventually, Mizuhara would plead guilty to bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. He was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison in February. Ohtani was never implicated in the scandal, but it was the first whiff of controversial news for a player with a squeaky-clean reputation.
Looking back, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was a valuable lesson.
“He's really become his own man,” Roberts said. “I think his English has gotten considerably better. He's handling a lot of matters by himself and not having any type of conduit. I think he's opened himself up more to staff, the players, his teammates.
"It's just good to see him become his own man, and I say that in an honest and positive way.”
Ohtani is no longer a young man by baseball standards — he turned 30 last July — and is in the prime of a one-of-a-kind career. He revealed last spring he was married to Mamiko Tanaka and the couple is expecting a baby later this year. Combined with the Mizuhara situation, the developments have forced Ohtani to mature, becoming a more well-rounded individual.
That could serve him well as he deals with the reality of his surgically-repaired body.
Ohtani had surgery during the offseason to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder that he suffered during the World Series. He's also trying to return to the pitcher's mound after needing major elbow surgery in 2023 for the second time in his career.
Roberts said Ohtani's improved maturity was noticable earlier this month after the manager suggested that the player slow down his throwing program, instead concentrating on hitting for a few weeks to get the shoulder ready for his designated hitter role in 2025.
Last year, Ohtani might have tried to push through without resting. This year, he took Roberts' advice.
“He's smart, he wants to pitch, he wants to hit, but he really understands that he had a major surgery (on his shoulder) and he's coming off another major surgery in his elbow," Roberts said. "So to be as good as he expects to be, I think there's got to be some sacrifices.
"I think as you get older, you have more experiences, you're more likely to listen to stuff like that.”
It's fair to wonder if we've already seen the best of Ohtani, considering it's going to be nearly impossible to recreate last season, when he became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season.
His stolen base attempts in 2025 figure to be down drastically — particularly early in the season — as he tries to protect his left shoulder. His projected return to the mound is in May, which could eat into his plate appearances later in the season. It'll be a delicate balance, but Ohtani and the Dodgers seem to be on the same page.
“I'm going to let the team dictate that," Ohtani said. “I do want to play as much as possible, as many games as possible, but if the team feels like I should get a break, I'll follow that.”
If there's anything we've learned about Ohtani over the past seven years, it's that it would be foolish to put limits on what he can accomplish. The three-time MVP and the Dodgers open the season as favorites to capture a second straight World Series title.
Ohtani hasn't lost his flair for the dramatic, either. In his first spring at-bat after shoulder surgery, he hit an opposite-field homer against Yusei Kikuchi.
“He does not cease to amaze,” Roberts said. “Every time Shohei gets up to bat, you've got to watch because something special might happen.”
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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, of Japan, smiles as he celebrates in the dugout after hitting a single against the Texas Rangers and being replaced by a pinch runner in the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) makes his way into the dugout before their spring training baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, March 8, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani runs to third on a base hit by Tommy Edman during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani calls time after hitting a double against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a spring training baseball game, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning of a spring training baseball game, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani warms up prior to a spring training baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
