Amber Glenn sets US short program record to edge Alysa Liu at nationals | Figure skating

Two-time defending champion Amber Glenn set the women’s short program record at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Wednesday night, giving her a narrow lead over world champion Alysa Liu heading into the free skate.

Liu had broken the record a few minutes earlier with a score of 81.11 points, earning a standing ovation from a crowd gathered at the home of the St. Louis Blues. But then Glenn took the ice and was flawless, from the opening triple axel to the final combination, earning 83.05 points, a hug from coach Damon Allen and a standing ovation from him.

“I knew I came here to do my job,” Glenn said, “and I was happy to see the scores were up, the scores were good and I was able to keep them up. I felt a responsibility to keep getting better and better.”

Glenn ended up being the best.

Isabeau Levito finished third with 75.72 points on the opening night of the national championships, which are the final opportunity for skaters to impress U.S. figure skating officials who will decide the team for the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday.

The dance competition will begin Thursday evening alongside the men’s short program.

Glenn, 26, who four years ago missed the national championships and a chance at the Beijing Games because of Covid-19, channeled his characteristic power and emotion into a routine set to Madonna’s Like A Prayer. Glenn followed her axel with a triple flip-triple toe loop, and her triple loop simply catapulted her into a wild end to an energetic program.

Allen was waiting for her at the edge of the rink, dressed in a brown suit that matched Glenn’s dazzling brown dress.

“Of course I’m delighted. The score was huge,” Glenn said. “My grandmother passed away last year and she was with me from day one, and I felt it today, and I’m not usually one of those people who says it, but I felt like something was helping me today.”

Glenn’s display followed an equally splendid performance by Liu, 20, who finished sixth at the Beijing Games, then retired from the sport entirely due to burnout, but is in the midst of a remarkable comeback.

Last year, she became the first American world champion since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.

Today, Liu is among a handful of American hopefuls trying to win women’s Olympic gold for the first time since Sarah Hughes in 2002.

Liu performed the same short program from last year’s world championships, starting with a swirling triple flip, landing a strong double axel and finishing with what coach Phillip DiGuglielmo called his best triple lutz-triple loop of the season.

“I’m really happy with the lutz,” Liu said. “It was good. It was really good.”

Levito, the 2023 champion and former world silver medalist, had to withdraw from the national championships last year due to injury. But she looked like she never missed a day, performing a medley of music honoring Sophia Loren with style and grace.

“I felt really happy that I did my job,” Levito said. “I feel like I’m in a really good place right now.”

Earlier in the evening, Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov began defending their U.S. pairs title with a near-perfect short program, putting them nearly eight points ahead of the field as they hope to make the U.S. team for the Winter Games.

While Mitrofanov, 28, was born in the United States, his 26-year-old partner was born in Finland. And although the couple married in early 2024 and Efimova obtained a green card that summer, she is still waiting for the United States to decide whether to waive the three-year waiting period to become a citizen — one of the requirements to represent a nation in the Olympics.

But time is running out before U.S. figure skating must announce its Olympic team on Sunday.

“We hope that a last-minute miracle could happen,” Mitrofanov said.

Efimova and Mitrofanov appeared to be slipping inside the Enterprise Center on Wednesday evening. They opened their short program with a beautiful triple twist, landed their side-by-side triple toe loop in sync, their tossed triple loop covered a long stretch of ice and finished by pumping their firsts as their music came to a close.

They finished with a season-high 75.31 points, while Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy were second with 67.67, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea close behind with 67.13, and Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez were within reach of the podium with 67.03.

“We’re really, really proud of how we skated tonight. The crowd was incredible,” Mitrofanov said. “We really trusted each other. We trusted our training. I was a little more nervous than usual, to be honest, and I was proud that Alisa was holding my hand throughout.”