Amber Glenn missed out on a medal at the Olympics because of a disastrous performance during the short program. That did not stop her from showing the utmost respect toward her opponents as the individual competition continued with the free skate.
She deserves high praise for her sportsmanship and respect.
The same cannot be said for the Russian skater who refused to shake Glenn’s hand at the Olympics. It presents a stark contrast to the 26-year-old American.
Adeliia Petrosian snubbed Amber Glenn.
Figure skating is equally as fake as it is genuine. There are a lot of unspoken rules. Some are more real than others. Like the “kiss and cry.”
There is a genuine respect among these skaters. Only they know what they go through. They can relate.
However, these skaters are still human. They are not happy when they lose and they do not necessarily want to pretend to be happy for the people who beat them when they are not.
The term “kiss and cry” was first coined in 1983 as is the nickname for the designated area where skaters wait for their scores. The post-performance emotions range from joy to heartbreak so there is a lot of celebrating and crying. Hence the nickname.
Even in defeat, the “kiss and cry” requires the skaters to show respect for their opponents. It is one of those unspoken rules. For example, if X skater defeats Y skater, Y skater must pretend to be excited for X skater. And X skater must show her sympathy for Y skater. If that makes sense? I digress.
Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian competed as an independent at the Olympics. She did not score higher than American figure skater Amber Glenn during the free skate, which allowed Glenn to hold the top spot at the time. Petrosian did not even acknowledge Glenn as she left the kiss and cry. Gasp!
Glenn noticed the snub. You can see it in her reaction and on her face. How dare she?!
The United States is pure class.
In contrast to Adeliia Petrosian’s disrespect, Amber Glenn went out of her way to comfort the skaters from other countries after they missed out on the gold medal — which went to Alysa Liu. It was special.
Glenn was one of the first people to console bronze medalist Ami Nakai in the kiss and cry. She also went over to silver medalist Sakamoto Kaori, who was equally as disappointed as Nakai to miss out on gold.
The television cameras tried to get up in Kaori’s face to film the moment and to capture her emotions while she cried. Glenn stepped in the way and asked for space.
Amber Glenn our classy First Lady pic.twitter.com/GjKniX2QS7
— Mol (@stickzszn) February 20, 2026
Credit also to the cameraman. He immediately nods at Glenn and stopped filming. Kudos to them both for recognizing the moment.
To make Amber Glenn’s actions even more powerful, this was after she had already been through her own disappointment. The American skater struggled during the short program, which put her outside of medal contention before the free skate. That did not prevent her from showing up for others. Amazing.