If you watched the women’s free skate last night at the Olympics, you saw a lot of Amber Glenn. The talented American finished just off the podium in fifth place, but she was a near constant fixture of the telecast. As part of a new production wrinkle, she sat in a chair on stage next to the kiss and cry for about an hour while nearly ten skaters took their turns after her. Not surprisingly, fans were up in their feelings about it, with some finding it awkward and unintentionally mean-spirited and others loving the drama.
It happened because of a planned change from previous Olympic broadcasts. This year, the figure skating competition featured a so-called leader’s chair. Medals are awarded based on combining the scores of the short program, which happened earlier in the week, and the free skate, which happened last night. Whoever was the current leader at any given moment was placed in that chair and told to wait until someone else topped their score.
