Plano native Amber Glenn is off to the Olympics

Plano's Amber Glenn has won three consecutive U.S. figure skating titles, the first woman to do so since Olympian Michelle Kwan.

• The 26-year-old is set to become the first openly queer women's figure skater in the Olympics.

Why it matters: Glenn had to withdraw from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2022 because of a positive Covid test and wasn't able to qualify for that year's Winter Olympics.

• She's now among the top U.S. figure skaters in the Milan Olympics, which start Feb. 6.

The latest: Earlier this month, Glenn earned the highest score ever recorded for a women's short program in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

• "She skates with so much heart and beauty in her own style and own way," commentator Tara Lipinski, a former figure skater, said after Glenn's performance.

Flashback: Stonebriar Centre and a rainy day introduced Glenn to ice skating at age 4.

• "We couldn't get her off the ice," her father, Richard, told D Magazine. The Plano police sergeant worked overtime to pay for his daughter's training.
• Glenn, who identifies as pansexual, was the first out LGBTQ+ woman to win a U.S. national title. She has also inspired other athletes to come out.

What they're saying: "I want to normalize having queer people in these spaces, that we can be some of the top athletes in the world and be ourselves while doing so," Glenn told reporters after the figure skating championships.