Olympic champion Amber Glenn trades blades for ballroom on Dancing With the Stars
Olympic gold medallist Amber Glenn has taken a ballroom slot on Dancing With the Stars without giving up the ice.
The three-time U.S. national champion joined the cast of season 35 only months after winning gold in the figure skating team event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. She is partnered with professional dancer Pasha Pashkov, as she confirmed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on 6 October.
Glenn is trying to hold both schedules at once. She told the outlet she had stepped off the ice 10 minutes before speaking to a reporter. Rehearsals for the ABC dance contest run through the day, and she is fitting training sessions around them. It is a tight turnaround. Skating and ballroom use the body in very different ways.
The footwear is the biggest shock. Glenn said spending hours each day in heels is an adjustment after 21 years in custom-made skating boots. Skating boots are stiff and moulded to lock the ankle for jumps and landings. Dance heels are light and flexible, and leave the ankle to do the work.
For her opening dance, Glenn and Pashkov performed a cha-cha, a fast Latin style built on sharp footwork and hip action, to “Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas. The judges scored the routine 18 out of 30 on her season debut, according to Just Women’s Sports. That is a modest start. Early scores on the show often rise quickly once partnerships settle.
Glenn also spoke about a routine paying homage to Heated Rivalry. She said she connects with its story about a professional athlete fearing judgment. Glenn has been open about her life as an LGBTQ+ athlete in a judged sport. She said that fear of how others will react felt familiar.
Her Olympic run is still fresh. At Milano Cortina, Glenn helped the United States win the team event, where results across the skating disciplines are combined into one national total, U.S. Figure Skating records. She then placed fifth in the individual women’s event, as noted by Olympics.com. Team gold first, then a top-five finish on her own.
The longer plan is to return to competition. U.S. Figure Skating said in September that Glenn will continue to train on the ice during her time on the show, with the intention of competing in the second half of the skating season. That means early mornings and late nights. It also means managing fatigue and injury risk across two disciplines.
What makes this stand out is how unusual that double load is. Many Olympians pause competition for television. Glenn is keeping her eligibility and her training alive while she learns to dance for votes.
For fans, this means two scoreboards to watch. Ballroom marks week to week, then competitive skating when the second half of the season begins.
