Amber Glenn poses with the Progress Pride flag. | Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports

The ninth time is the charm for Amber Glenn, the out skater who won the U.S. women’s figure skating title Friday night in Columbus, Ohio. After her gold-medal win, Glenn posed with the Progress Pride flag.

Glenn, who came out as bisexual and pansexual in 2019, is the first out queer woman to win the U.S. skating title.

“When I first came out, I was terrified. I was worried it might affect my scores,” she said after the event, but added that her goal is to be true to herself.

Glenn, who won the silver medal in 2021 and the bronze in 2023, told NBC Sports that she was in “utter shock” after beating Isabeau Levito for the title.

“I know that both Isabeau and I are capable of so much more, but just the shock that all my hard work has paid off and the realization of what more I can do,” she said on NBC Sports. Glenn struggled in her free skate, but Levito — skating last — couldn’t capitalize, falling three times to finish third behind Josephine Lee.

It was a rough start to the season for Glenn, who suffered a concussion and broken bone around her eye after colliding with another skater.

Amber Glenn skates during the free skate at the U.S. Nationals. | Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

After the win, Glenn posed with the Progress Pride flag, a version of the traditional Pride flag that adds black and brown stripes to represent LGBTQ people of color and people with HIV/AIDS, along with the baby blue, pink and white of the trans flag.

In coming out in 2019, Glenn talked about the necessity of being true to herself.

“The fear of not being accepted is a huge struggle for me,” she told Dallas Voice. “Being perceived as ‘just a phase’ or ‘indecisive’ is a common thing for bisexual/pansexual women. I don’t want to shove my sexuality in people’s faces, but I also don’t want to hide who I am.”

Glenn is hiding no longer and it’s wonderful that she celebrate who she is by proudly displaying the flag.

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