Amber Glenn Wants to Break the Ice About Periods: 'Crazy That Such a Normal Part of Our Lives Can Be So Shocking' (Exclusive)
Amber Glenn Wants to Break the Ice About Periods: 'Crazy That Such a Normal Part of Our Lives Can Be So Shocking' (Exclusive)
Katie HillWed, March 18, 2026 at 4:21 PM UTC
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Amber Glenn after the Women's Single Skating Short Program at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic gamesCredit: Sarah Stier/Getty -
After an emotional 2026 Winter Olympics short-program performance, Amber Glenn shared publicly that she was competing on her period, sparking a world-wide conversation
Glenn is partnering with Kotex to continue the open forum around periods in professional sports and promote their new GravityCore products
If Glenn experiences period symptoms while competing, she likes to get moving or use a portable heating pad
Amber Glenn is an Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, outspoken about the importance of mental health and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community —but she's also just a woman who gets her period.
Directly following her short-program performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she struggled to land several moves and landed in 13th place, Glenn had an emotional and candid on-camera reaction to her results.
"I am on my period right now," Glenn, 26, told a reporter from France TV Sports. "So it's always really hard. Especially when you're wearing something like this and you have to perform in front of the world. That's hard and we don't talk about it."
Her willingness to be so open about a subject that can be seen as taboo —dealing with periods as professional athletes — earned a flood of positive responses from fans. She's shared more about the topic on social media, and has now partnered with Kotex (whose new line of GravityCore products addresses many period concerns from active women) to continue to raise awareness.
"I'm so happy to be partnering with Kotex because they're designed to give the athletes the protection and confidence that we need when we're trying to focus on doing something really important," Glenn tells PEOPLE.
The Winter Olympics are the largest stage for figure skaters and come with the largest stakes—whether you're on your period or not—so it's important for Glenn to feel confident in her choice of protection. When sharing the news of her Kotex partnership on Instagram, Glenn wrote in part, "Competing on your period is part of the reality for many athletes. We analyze every jump, every score—so we should be just as open about this too."
Glenn tells PEOPLE that the lack of conversation around periods in professional sports may partly be because "there's no informed go-to" when it comes to treatment. Unlike with ACL tears or ankle sprains, where there's a definitive plan of action on how to get better, there's nothing like that when it comes to period symptoms.
"There's always, like, a guide to, how do we get back to feeling our best and feeling confident enough to tackle the next goal?" explains Glenn. "And, you know, periods, they're not really included in that."
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That's why she believes open conversation about the topic among athletes and their support teams can change that. One example she shares with PEOPLE took place at the Olympics several weeks ago. "One of my teammates also had to compete on their period, and they were just struggling," Glenn says. "And I had this heating pad thing that's meant for your back, but she just flipped it around and used it, and she said it was a lifesaver for her when trying to warm up and compete."
Another trick that helps Glenn get through her period pain is to get moving. Typically, the intensity of a competition or performance distracts her from the pain, allowing her to perform to the best of her ability. When the adrenaline subsides and the pain returns, she tries her best to "take a nice, long, hot shower and really try and stretch and get everything feeling relaxed."
Amber Glenn competing in the Women's Short ProgramCredit: Tang Xinyu/VCG via Getty
In addition to the obvious concerns about cramps and leaking, Glenn points out that feeling bloated on your period can be a liability when your professional wardrobe consists of tight-fitting leotards. But after having her period for 13 or 14 years, the athletes has some tips on dealing with body image on the ice.
"Everyone else, they are more than likely so much more focused on their own lives and how they look and how they're being perceived, they're not even gonna notice," she shares. "Just remember all the hard work you've put in to being where you are as an athlete, and this is the body that has gotten you to that point, and it's gonna continue to keep pushing you to the next level to do the best you can, and that's what you have right now."
With the Olympics behind her, Glenn is using her brief downtime to rest at home (and admire the gold medal taking pride of place on her mantel) before giving it her all at the World Figure Skating Championships beginning March 24.
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She also plans to continue starting conversations around periods in professional sports. "I've always been a very open and honest person; that's just how I've been, very authentic with what's going on," Glenn says. "I was just doing my normal thing. It's crazy that such a normal part of our lives can be so shocking."
on People
Source: “AOL Sports”
