On Feb. 8, Team USA’s Amber Glenn became the sixth woman in the history of the Winter Olympics to land a triple axel in competition, ultimately helping the USA to win gold in the team event. But did you know she’s also a huge nerd who’s super into Magic: The Gathering?
In a short profile video that’s aired with some of the Winter Olympics coverage, Glenn talked openly about her love of the trading card game — and she started it off by casually pulling an assortment of Magic cards out of her pockets, including Pyroblast, Last Chance, and more. Glenn explained that she left her “super fancy” cards at home because they’re her “prized possessions” that she couldn’t bear to lose.
“It is a battle-based game that has to do with different planes of existence and realms, and you usually play against a couple other people,” she said in the video (all but confirming that she partakes in four-player Commander). “I go to local game stores and play. I know it’s nerdy, but it’s my hobby and I enjoy it.”
Born in Plano, Texas, Glenn has spent most of her life on the ice and has talked openly about the heavy mental strain that comes with participating in the sport’s highest levels of competition. For her, that’s where Magic comes in. In the same video, Glenn speaks candidly about the importance of having passions outside of skating, especially as she’s worked to prioritize her mental health.
“My skating and mental health journey are an ever-continuing path,” she said. “Prioritizing my mental health outside of the sport is crucial — and not forgetting that I’m a whole person. I have hobbies. I have people I love outside of the sport.”
Glenn’s official Team USA profile lists Magic: The Gathering as one of those hobbies, even noting that her dog Uki is named after Ukkima, Stalking Shadow, a blue-black “whale wolf” that can’t be blocked. While being interviewed by a local NBC affiliate in Texas earlier this month, Glenn said her Uki is a young Schipperke, a long-haired black dog breed with wolfish features originally from Belgium. (We’re willing to bet that Glenn has a Commander deck with Ukkima, Stalking Shadow and Cazur, Ruthless Stalker as partners — Amber, relase the decklist!)
A “Day in the Life” style video published by Team USA in December also offered a look into her daily routine, which includes working out, physical therapy, and retail therapy at her local game store. Glenn left with an armful of boxes from Magic’s Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set, including at least one scene box. Glenn’s teammate Alysa Liu also posted a video to her Instagram story in December in which Glenn introduced Liu to the game. In her first-ever Magic pack (presumably a Final Fantasy Collector Booster), Liu pulled borderless versions of both Y’shtola, Night’s Blessed and Clive, Ifrit’s Dominant. And in July 2025, Glenn unboxed a Tarkir: Dragonstorm bundle for NBC’s On Her Turf.
All of it adds up to a portrait of an athlete who’s figured out how to stay grounded at the very top of her sport. For Glenn, Magic isn’t a quirky aside or a bit of Olympic color — it’s part of how she protects her mental health, maintains balance, and reminds herself that she’s more than her results on the ice.
Glenn next competes on Feb. 17 in the women’s short program. In the meantime, we like to assume that she’s shuffling up a deck and playing a little Magic.
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