Amber Glenn Steps In To Protect Kaori Sakamoto During Emotional Olympic Moment
The footage showed Glenn — who could relate after suffering her own heartbreak earlier in the Games — crouching down and placing an arm around Sakamoto as the Japanese star appeared to be crying deep inside the arena.
When a cameraman attempted to capture the moment, Glenn stood up and positioned herself in front of the lens, waving her hands to signal that the scene should not be filmed.
According to Newsweek, Glenn later commented on a TikTok video of the incident, writing: “Dude I know it’s their job but they will get all up in your business when you clearly need space it’s wild.”
The Milano Cortina Olympics carried added significance for Sakamoto, as the 25-year-old announced last year that she plans to retire following these Games.
She entered the final segment of the women’s free skate sitting in second place, still very much in contention for the elusive Olympic gold medal.
According to the Olympics’ website, Liu had already taken the lead by the time Sakamoto skated second-to-last, and her decisive error came during a triple combination.
Sakamoto ultimately finished second, just 1.91 points behind Liu, while holding a 5.74-point advantage over teammate Ami Nakai in third.
“I only felt regret,” Sakamoto said, via Olympics.com. “I can’t really explain it. I don’t remember what happened between elements. I’ll have to look back and understand it.”
“I wasn’t that nervous. But… I guess this is how my story ends. It hurts, I have to admit.”
“I came this far and couldn’t finish it. The frustration is unbearable. Last time, the bronze felt like a miracle, and now I’m wearing a better medal but still frustrated — which probably says everything about the work I’ve put in over the past four years.”
“For that, I just want to give myself a pat on the back.”
Glenn, the 26-year-old American skater, endured similar disappointment earlier in the competition after errors in the short program left her with a 67.39 score and dropped her to 13th.
She rebounded with a 147.52 in the free skate on Thursday, climbing to a fifth-place finish.
“I just told myself, ‘I’m going to do what I do best, which is enjoy skating,’” Glenn said. “And that’s exactly what I did today.”
