Amber Glenn claims third straight US Figure Skating title
Amber Glenn captured her third consecutive U.S. Figure Skating title on Friday night with a brilliant free skate, highlighted by a clean opening triple axel, her signature move.
Cheered on by fellow skater Alysa Liu, who stayed after her own strong performance, Glenn delivered a flawless program that secured her victory and pushed the reigning world champion to the silver medal, News.Az reports, citing AP.
“She trains so hard,” Liu said. “To skate a clean program, it’s so deserving.”
Glenn ultimately finished with 233.55 points to become the first back-to-back-to-back national champ since Michelle Kwan’s last title in 2005, while Liu wound up second with 228.91 points. Isabeau Levito earned the bronze medal with 224.45 points and, more than likely, the final women’s spot on the American squad headed for the Winter Games.
The official team announcement comes Sunday.
“I felt like I was going to throw up. My stomach has been bothering me all day. Woof,” Glenn said. “Fake it ‘till you make it. I took that to heart. I was just trying to get in touch with my body and get a feel for the ice, and I think my years of experience kicked in.”
Earlier in the night, Alisha Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov defended their pairs title despite a couple of mistakes, including a scary moment when Mitrofanov was nearly clipped by Efimova’s skate. They finished with 207.71 points to outdistance Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who were second with 197.12, and the team of Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman.
While he is a U.S. citizen, born in Wisconsin and raised in Texas, the 26-year-old Efimova was born in Finland and has competed for Germany and Russia along with her native country. Only citizens of the nation they represent are eligible for the Olympics, though, and while Mitrofanov and Efimova are married and she has a green card, she has not received an American passport yet.
The Skating Club of Boston, where the couple trains, has been working with U.S. senators and U.S. Figure Skating officials to get the three-year waiting period for citizenship expedited. But time is running out before Sunday’s deadline to announce the team.
The Americans have qualified the maximum three women’s spots on the Olympic team.
They only have two spots in pairs.
Efimova and Mitrofanov would get one, should her citizenship get approved at the last minute. Kam and O’Shea are near locks to make their first Olympic team, while McBeath and Parkman are unable to go because he likewise does not have U.S. citizenship.
That could leave U.S. Figure Skating to make a judgment call on the second pairs team it sends to the Milan Cortina Games.
Emily Chan and Spencer Howe rallied from eighth after a difficult short program to finish fourth with 186.52 points Friday night, while the up-and-coming team of Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy were less than two points behind in fifth place.
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