Plano native and Olympic gold medalist Amber Glenn will be honored at a hometown ceremony on May 28. Here’s everything you need to know.
Olympic gold medalist Amber Glenn will be honored in her hometown of Plano on Thursday, May 28 during a public proclamation ceremony and special reception hosted in Plano Municipal Center’s Florence Shapiro Council Chambers. The event was organized to celebrate Glenn’s athletic achievements and the positive impact she’s had in Texas and beyond.
The ceremony begins at 5 p.m., with Plano Mayor John Muns presenting Glenn with an official proclamation around 5:15 p.m. Special guests and community leaders will speak throughout the evening. When announcing the event, Mayor Muns spoke highly of Glenn and her accomplishments, saying, “Amber Glenn’s story is one of determination, resilience and heart. Plano is proud to celebrate not only her achievements on the world stage, but also the example she sets for young athletes and our entire community.”
It should prove to be a momentous occasion for fans, residents, and Glenn’s family members. Her father, Richard Glenn, is currently a sergeant with Plano’s police department. Her mother, Cathlene Glenn, is a fitness instructor. Both parents, along with Amber’s sister Brooke, Glenn have been hugely supportive of Amber’s ice skating ambitions from the very beginning.
Amber began her training in Texas
Before Amber Glenn brought home the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics alongside her fellow US athletes in the team skating competition, she was a young girl taking to the ice for the first time at a local mall. Her mother, Cathlene Glenn, took her to a skating rink when she was only five years old as a way to beat the summer heat. Amber was immediately drawn to the sport and decided to stick with it through adulthood.
Over the course of her career, Amber has won three back-to-back Senior US National Championships and a Junior National Championship. The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan marked her Olympic debut, but she also made history during that appearance for another reason: Amber was the first ever openly queer woman to represent the US National Team as an individual skater.
She previously came out during a 2019 interview with the Dallas Voice. When reflecting on her decision to address her pansexuality/bisexuality, Amber told ESPN in January 2026, “I did not expect it to blow up in the way that it did. But I’m grateful because they got my message out there. I was able to represent a lot of people that are in skating, especially queer women.”
Her proud representation of the queer community is one of several ways she inspires people from Plano to Chicago to Milan and back again. Amber’s been outspoken about her mental health struggles, and hoped that in sharing her story, she could help other young skaters who may be facing similar experiences. She told ESPN, “I wish there were [well-known athletes] out there when I was younger that talked about their experience and shared that not everything was sunshine and rainbows trying to make it to the top.”
Amber added, “Healing isn’t linear, it isn’t just an overnight thing. I’m still making progress.” The progress she’s making, both on and off the ice, is evident to everyone who’s been following along with her career—either since the Olympics or from the very beginning. Now, she’ll have the chance to celebrate that impact and endurance with the community that gave her the tools she needed to succeed.
