US athlete Suzy Favor Hamilton admits working as a prostitute
Married former US athlete Suzy Favor Hamilton admits to double life working for escort agency
Three-time American Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton says she coped with depression and a troubled marriage by turning to a life of prostitution.
Favor Hamilton acknowledged on Twitter she had worked as an escort following a report on The Smoking Gun website about her double life.
"I do not expect people to understand," Favor Hamilton tweeted. "But the reasons for doing this made sense to me at the time and were very much related to depression."
The Smoking Gun said the 44-year-old athlete had been working for the past year for a Las Vegas escort service that booked her for dates there, as well as in Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago.
The website said she charged US$600 an hour for her services. One of the country's best-ever middle-distance runners, Favor Hamilton competed for the US at the Olympics in 1992, 1996 and 2000, but did not win a medal.
Until now, the most dramatic public moment of her life was her fall in the final of the 1,500 metres at Sydney in 2000, when she hit the track with 70 metres to go.
She blamed dehydration, but later admitted she fell on purpose after a panic attack caused by the pressure on her to win.