Amber Glenn becomes first US woman in 14 years to win figure skating Grand Prix Final

GRENOBLE, France (AP) — Amber Glenn has soared to the top of international figure skating and proved she belonged there Saturday with an historic victory in the Grand Prix Final.

Glenn became the first American to win the women's Grand Prix Final competition since Alissa Czisny 14 years ago as three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto had to settle for third place.

That continues a stunning breakout season at the age of 25 for the Texas-born skater, who is unbeaten in 2024-25, and caps a year which began with her first U.S. national title in January. Glenn admitted it's hard to get used to being on the top step of the podium.

“I’m exhausted,” she said. "It has been a whirlwind of a season and I’ve kind of struggled with this imposter syndrome. Just: ‘Oh, no, no, I’m not winning. That’s not me.’ And I’m just happy my hard work is finally showing, and this is a great event, and I’m honored to even be here."

Skating last in the six-woman field against five Japanese skaters, there was little sign of the pain which had bothered Glenn in Thursday's short program.

Glenn started with an emphatic triple axel and overcame a slight wobble part-way through her free skate — doubling a planned triple salchow and slightly under-rotating a triple flip — to finish strongly and score a total 212.07 for the win.

Mone Chiba, a silver medalist at both her Grand Prix events this season, was second again on 208.85. World champion Sakamoto had been out of form in the short program but recovered with a strong free skate to the musical “Chicago" for bronze on 201.13.

The U.S. could win two more titles later Saturday. Ilia Malinin leads the men's event ahead of the free skate and Madison Chock and Evan Bates lead the ice dance.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, competes in the women's free skating segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, competes in the women's free skating segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Mone Chiba, of Japan, competes in the women's free skating segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Amber Glenn, of the United States, reacts after finishing the women's free skating segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Amber Glenn, of the United States, competes in the women's free skating segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Amber Glenn, of the United States, competes in the women's free skating segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted Friday to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo despite vehement protests by governing party lawmakers, further deepening the country’s political crisis set off by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment.

Han’s impeachment means he will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him. The court is already reviewing whether to uphold Yoon's earlier impeachment. The impeachments of the country’s top two officials worsen its political turmoil, deepen its economic uncertainty and hurt its international image.

The single-chamber National Assembly passed Han’s impeachment motion with a 192-0 vote. Lawmakers with the governing People Power Party boycotted the vote and gathered around the podium where assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik was seated and shouted that the vote was “invalid” and demanded Woo's resignation. No violence or injuries were reported.

The PPP lawmakers protested after Woo called for a vote on Han’s impeachment motion after announcing its passage required a simple majority in the 300-memer assembly, not a two-thirds majority as claimed by the PPP. Most South Korean officials can be impeached by the National Assembly with a simple majority vote, but a president’s impeachment needs the support of two-thirds. There are no specific laws on the impeachment of an acting president.

Han’s powers will be officially suspended when copies of his impeachment document are delivered to him and the Constitutional Court. The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, will take over.

Han, who was appointed prime minister by Yoon, became acting president after Yoon, a conservative, was impeached by the National Assembly about two weeks ago over his short-lived Dec. 3 imposition of martial law. Han quickly clashed with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party as he pushed back against opposition-led efforts to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, establish an independent investigation into Yoon’s martial law decree and legislate pro-farmer bills.

At the heart of the fighting is the Democratic Party’s demand that Han approve the assembly's nominations of three new Constitutional Court justices to restore its full nine-member bench ahead of its ruling on Yoon’s impeachment. That’s a politically sensitive issue because a court decision to dismiss Yoon as president needs support from at least six justices, and adding more justices will likely increase the prospects for Yoon’s ouster. Yoon’s political allies in the governing People Power Party oppose the appointment of the three justices, saying Han shouldn’t exercise the presidential authority to make the appointments while Yoon has yet to be formally removed from office.

On Thursday, Han said he wouldn’t appoint the justices without bipartisan consent. The Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the assembly, submitted an impeachment motion against Han and passed bills calling for the appointment of three justices.

South Korean investigative agencies are probing whether Yoon committed rebellion and abuse of power with his marital law decree. His defense minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and police officers to the National Assembly, which prompted a dramatic standoff that ended when lawmakers managed to enter the chamber and voted unanimously to overrule Yoon’s decree.

South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top, speaks as lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against the country's acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top left, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top center, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo speaks at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Choi Jae-koo/Yonhap via AP)