Suzy Favor Hamilton, Three-Time Olympic Runner, Worked as Las Vegas Call Girl in 2012 (Photos)

by NESN Staff on Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 9:00AM

There have been any number of cases of athletes finding themselves in dire financial straits after their playing careers, but this incident may take that to a whole new level.

Suzy Favor Hamilton is a three-time Olympic runner, and one of the NCAA’s most decorated tracks stars ever. And, in 2012, she spent time working as a $600-per-hour call girl in Las Vegas, according to reporting done by The Smoking Gun.

Prior to this revelation, Favor Hamilton, 44, was not necessarily a household name, but she was far less anonymous than many Olympians, being involved in at least two relatively famous incidents. During the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, a Nike advertisement she starred in — being chased by a chainsaw-wielding killer — attracted controversy for a number of reasons. During those same games, Favor Hamilton fell intentionally during the 1500 meters after realizing she couldn’t win the race.

“I take full responsibility for my mistakes. I’m not the victim and I’m not going that route,” said Favor Hamilton. “I’m owning up to what I did. I would not blame anybody except myself. … Everybody in this world makes mistakes. I made a huge mistake. Huge.”

Favor Hamilton suggested via her Twitter account that her foray into prostitution was a “coping mechanism” for a difficult time she was experiencing.

I was drawn to escorting in large part because it provided many coping mechanisms for me when I was going through a very challenging

— Suzy Favor Hamilton (@favorhamilton) December 20, 2012

time with my marriage and my life. It provided an escape from a life that I was struggling in. It was a double life.

— Suzy Favor Hamilton (@favorhamilton) December 20, 2012

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.

— Suzy Favor Hamilton (@favorhamilton) December 20, 2012

Perhaps the most bizarre part of this find is that Favor Hamilton did not appear to be in financial trouble. She operates a successful real estate brokerage with her husband, her high school sweetheart, and also earned money as a motivational speaker.

Favor Hamilton had been working under the alias “Kelly Lundy” (is that a Married With Children reference?), and claims that she was outed by a disgruntled client.