Suzy Favor Hamilton was such a Midwestern sports icon the Big Ten’s female athlete of the year award is named for the former Wisconsin runner.
That image makes a stunning contrast with Hamilton’s admission that she has spent parts of the last year as a $600-an-hour call girl.
In a story on thesmokinggun.com, Hamilton took full responsibility for what she called “a huge mistake.” On her Twitter feed, @suzyhamilto, she said depression contributed to her decision to work for a Las Vegas-based escort service.
The story recounts how Hamilton, a three-time Olympian, 9-time NCAA champion and three-time Big Ten female athlete of the year, was leading a dual life: mother, wife, motivational speaker and realtor in Madison, Wis.; call girl in Las Vegas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and other cities.
“I do not expect people to understand, but the reasons for doing this made sense to me at the time and were very much related to depression,” Hamilton tweeted Thursday.
“I cannot emphasize enough how sorry I am to anyone I have hurt as a result of my actions and greatly appreciate the support from family and those closest to me. I fully intend to make amends and get back to being a good mother, wife, daughter, and friend.”
Hamilton said she has been seeking help from a psychologist.
Known as “Kelly” on the web site of the escort service for which she worked, Hamilton told The Smoking Gun that she suspected a client revealed who she was despite efforts to protect her real identity. According to TSG, one of her escort service clients offered a reporter money to prevent the story from getting out.
The 44-year-old Hamilton, who grew up in Stevens Point, Wis., once was the glamor girl of track and field. The escort service’s web site advertised her in a variety of revealing photographs.
Hamilton said in the story her husband, Mark, knew of her escort work and tried vainly to get her to stop.
"I realize I have made highly irrational choices and I take full responsibility for them," Hamilton tweeted. "I am not a victim here and knew what I was doing.
"I was drawn to escorting in large part because it provided many coping mechanisms for me when I was going through a very challenging time with my marriage and my life. It provided an escape from a life that I was struggling in. It was a double life."
Until now, the most dramatic public moment of Hamilton’s life was her tumble to the track with 70 meters to go in the 1,500-meter final at the 2000 Olympics. She had led with 130 meters left but wound up walking to the finish and left the stadium in a wheelchair.
At the time, she attributed the fall to dehydration from medicine she was taking for a hamstring injury. A year later, Hamilton said she had a panic attack caused by self-imposed pressure to win for her brother, who had committed suicide in 1999.
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