Can Amber Glenn still medal? Explaining scenarios for 2026 women'… — and more

Can Amber Glenn still medal? Explaining scenarios for 2026 women's final after short program mistake originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Amber Glenn arrived at the 2026 Olympics with expectations of at least competing for gold after winning three consecutive U.S. national championships, but her singles bid quickly took a hit on Tuesday.

Glenn missed an attempt at a triple loop during her short program routine in Milan, bringing her to tears and leaving her ranked 13th among all competitors.

Tuesday's short program wasn't a medal event, but it does contribute to the final scores that determine the three women's singles medalists.

Can Glenn still find her way onto the podium on Thursday? Here's what you need to know.

MORE 2026 OLYMPICS: Live medal tracker | Viewer's guide | Day-by-day schedule

Can Amber Glenn still medal?

Glenn enters Thursday's free skate routine ranked 13th following her short program mishap. History says her chances of getting a score that pushes her into the top three, or even close, are slim. 

Here's a look at where each women's singles medalist from the last seven winter games ranked after their short program routine:

Over the last seven Winter Olympics, no woman has finished lower than fourth in the short program and gone on to win a medal. Since Glenn finished 13th, her chances are distant, even with the free skate offering more points.

This year's men's singles competition might offer some more hope. The medalists finished fifth, second and ninth, respectively, in short program. 

Glenn already has a gold medal through an American win in the team portion of Olympic figure skating, but such strong performances by the competitors ahead of her -- including teammate Alysa Liu -- have put her in a major hole in her chase for another. In all likelihood, a dominant showing by Glenn would have to be accompanied by total collapses from a few skaters ahead of her in the standings for her to make the podium.

MORE:How old is Amber Glenn?

Olympic figure skating standings for women's final

Here's a look at the 24 skaters who advanced to the women's final and their short program scores:

MORE:Full details on Amber Glenn's short program misstep

Amber Glenn's short program mistake

Glenn impressed for much of her short program routine, but the margin is thin on the biggest stage in the world. She couldn't complete a triple loop near the end of her routine, only completing two rotations, which earned her a zero for the jump.

The ending of Amber Glenn's short program. pic.twitter.com/CWK6kLWEyx

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 17, 2026

After the mishap, Glenn was visibly emotional and ranked 13th out of 29 skaters, including third out of three Americans in the competition.

MORE: Meet star U.S. figure skaters Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito

Why did Amber Glenn get a zero?

Glenn was required to do a triple loop at that point in her routine but only completed two rotations, so her attempt was ruled an "invalid element" by the judges.

The missed triple loop didn't give her a zero for her entire routine, which was otherwise strong, but it meant she couldn't earn any points for that part of her routine. 

With the margin so small between Glenn and the other top skaters, a zero for just one element made a major difference. Glenn finished 13th among 29 short program competitors, more than 11 points out of the lead and more than nine points out of third.

Paul Gorst is remaining hopeful that Ibrahima Konate will ultimately sign a new contract at Liverpool, with the clock rapidly ticking on a decision over his future.

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The Frenchman’s current deal ends in just over four months’ time, although Arne Slot publicly stated last week that discussions are ongoing behind the scenes over a potential renewal for the 26-year-old.

Along with his Liverpool Echo colleague Ian Doyle, the aforementioned journalist recently made the case for the Reds’ number 5 to be kept on so that the club have secured a centre-back for his peak footballing years and won’t have to break the bank for a readymade first-team replacement.

Why Gorst thinks ‘there is hope yet’ over new deal for Konate

In a readers’ Q&A for the Liverpool Echo, Gorst was asked what he thinks will happen with Konate’s contract situation.

He replied: ‘It does indeed sound more promising on Ibrahima Konate’s contract situation, I would agree. I was in the room with Arne Slot on Friday when he told us that the club remained locked in talks over a new deal and it sounded fairly encouraging.’

(Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

The reporter raised one potential ‘sticking point’ regarding the player’s wage demands, noting that he’s still on the same weekly salary that he was earning when he came to Liverpool as a relatively unproven 22-year-old in 2021 and is now an established elite-level operator.

Gorst concluded: ‘Liverpool will have to pay a fortune to replace him this summer if he walks away, and that’s even factoring in Jeremy Jacquet’s imminent arrival. I’m hedging my bets at this point as we are nearly in March without a resolution but Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk only renewed in April [2025], so there is hope yet.’

Konate would be justified in seeking a significant pay rise

The journalist’s point about Konate’s wages staying the same for five years while many other teammates have had pay rises in that time is a pertinent one, and the defender will have also seen new signings who aren’t readymade starters coming in on higher salaries.

According to Capology, the 26-year-old is still on £70,000 per week, a relatively low wage within the Liverpool squad. For context, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Joe Gomez (neither of whom start as regularly as the Frenchman) earn £85,000 weekly, while perennial substitute Federico Chiesa is on £150,000 per week.

Those three are all being paid more than the Reds’ number 5 even though he’s the only one who’s a fixed starter in Slot’s team. That’s not to discredit or demean the others, but to substantiate why the France international might justifiably be clamouring for a substantial pay rise.

Although Konate has had some below-par performances this season, he’s been one of the few defenders who’s remained consistently available to LFC, which is significant in a campaign where injuries have decimated our backline.

Also, the 26-year-old has enjoyed a notable resurgence in form since returning from compassionate leave last month after the death of his father, putting in an outstanding display in the hard-fought win at Sunderland a week ago.

As Gorst mentioned, it wasn’t until April of last year that Salah and Van Dijk renewed their deals, so there’s no need for panic with our number 5 just yet. That said, it’d feel like a huge weight off everyone’s shoulders for a new deal to be struck sooner rather than later.

Ole Miss hosts LSU in a women's basketball matchup. Here's how to watch the top-20 game with live stream and start time information.

Nottingham Forest’s last game was against Vitor Pereira’s last club. His first match in charge is against another of his former clubs. Maybe that is simply the logical consequence of the managerial turnover under Evangelos Marinakis and the choice of a peripatetic figure like Pereira.

A reign starts against Fenerbahce this evening, Forest playing in European competition on Asian soil. Pereira spent 25 games at the helm of the Istanbul club, which is three more than Sean Dyche lasted at Forest. And that, in turn, was almost three times as many as Ange Postecoglou mustered earlier this season.

Perhaps the Europa League led Forest to this point: appointing the manager who won it last year may have been Marinakis’ way of targeting continental silverware and a place in the Champions League. Instead, Forest are threatened with the drop into the Championship. Coincidentally, Postecoglou’s points-per-game ratio in this season’s Premier League is the same as Pereira’s: the Australian got one from five matches with Forest, the Portuguese two from 10 at Wolves.

If that may not bode well for Forest’s 12 remaining top-flight fixtures, the bare numbers might indicate that Dyche was unfortunate to be dismissed. He took 22 points from 18 Premier League matches, which is survival form; he lost only one of the last six.

But Forest were calamitously bad in that defeat, 3-1 at Leeds, while some of Dyche’s worst days came in other competitions: the hopeless performance at Wrexham in the FA Cup, or the 1-0 defeat to Braga in the Europa League which in turn consigned them to the play-off round.

There was something predictable about Dyche’s unravelling. At his best, his sides can be purposeful, efficient, good on the break, all qualities Forest displayed in their 3-0 win at Anfield. Too often, however, his football was awful. Give him better players – and Forest have spent around £200m in the last year – and his sides could still be unwatchable. Dyche could proudly wear the Forest badge, cite his past as a youth-team player at the club, surround himself with the 1990s luminaries Ian Woan and Steve Stone, but dismal football did not get him support in the stands.

If Pereira’s safety mission will be measured first in the points required to perhaps finish ahead of a resurgent West Ham – now being organised by Nuno Espirito Santo, the first of Marinakis’ three sackings this season – style may still be a consideration. Combine the track records of manager and owner and maybe there is no chance of longevity anyway – Pereira has had eight managerial stints of under 40 games – but there was the sense Marinakis wanted Forest to be more expansive than they were under Nuno, let alone Dyche.

In Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson and Callum Hudson-Odoi, there should be a level of creativity, but Forest are the second lowest scorers in the Premier League. That could be attributed to the absence of Chris Wood, injured since October, or the reality Igor Jesus has been more prolific in Europe. Forest’s return of 35 shots but no goals in the stalemate with Wolves was un-Dychean.

Pereira was parachuted into Wolves mid-season last year, got fine goal returns from Jorgen Strand Larsen and Matheus Cunha and galvanised a club with his charisma and quotability. Forest, who rejected one supposed guarantee against relegation in Dyche, could hope for a repeat.

Europe is a complication as well an opportunity. Two of Pereira’s first three league games are against the last two champions. The last two away trips are at sides currently in the top five. Only two of those dozen matches are against anyone currently in the bottom six, only three against those in the bottom eight.

Two of his first three fixtures in all competitions, however, are against Fenerbahce. They include Pereira’s captain at Wolves, Nelson Semedo. They have signed N’Golo Kante to add to ambitious summer recruits such as Ederson, Marco Asensio and Milan Skriniar. They are unbeaten in the Turkish Super Lig, though not top of it. Their form in Europe has been more chequered. Jose Mourinho lost a Champions League qualifier to Benfica and then lost his job. Fenerbahce only came 19th in the league phase of the Europa League. A team featuring three Champions League winners nevertheless represent pedigree opponents.

Pereira may yet join Brian Clough in a select group of managers to win Forest European silverware. Or he could be part of a historically big band. He arrived at the City Ground saying he believed he had the trust of Marinakis. It is a statement that could make him sound naïve, potentially soon.

Forest may feel Dyche was sacked in time to help them beat the drop. The danger for Pereira, their fourth manager of the season, is that he has arrived sufficiently early for there still to be a fifth.