Suzy Favor-Hamilton

Suzy Favor-Hamilton From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Suzy Favor-Hamilton (born August 8, 1968) is a former American professional middle distance runner. She notably deliberately fell during the 2000 Sydney Olympics 1500m women's final when she realized she could not win.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
1.1 High school competition
1.2 Collegiate
1.3 Professional
1.4 Media exposure
2 Commercial controversy
3 Escort service controversy
4 References
5 External links

Biography Suzy Favor-Hamilton was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to Conrad and Rachel Favor. She began running at age nine and then attended and competed at Stevens Point Area Senior High, graduating in 1986. She attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, receiving a bachelor of science degree in graphic arts in 1991. While a freshman there, she met Mark Hamilton, then a pitcher on the University baseball team. The two married a week after she graduated. Residing in New Glarus, Wisconsin, Favor-Hamilton was coached by Peter Tegen.

High school competitionU.S. Junior record in the 1500 m
Three times held the U.S. Junior title in the 1500 m
Twice the Pan American Juniors gold medalist (1984, 1986)
Won 11 state high school titles
Named one of the 100 High School Athletes of the Century by Scholastic Sports Magazine
CollegiateAt the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Favor won nine NCAA individual titles which, while now tied by Sally Kipyego, still stands as the most in NCAA history. Favor's other collegiate accomplishments include:

NCAA Championships record holder in the 800 m and 1500 m
Two NCAA Cross-Country Championships runner-up awards
NCAA Top Six Award
NCAA Woman of the Year
23 Big Ten Conference championships
Four Big Ten Athlete of the Year Awards, which is now called the "Suzy Favor Award"
Big Ten Athlete of the Decade for the 1990s
World University Games silver medalist
Jumbo Elliot Award
Honda-Broderick Cup Award
Babe Zaharias Award
14 All-American awards
ProfessionalAfter graduating, Favor-Hamilton competed extensively, with the following results:

Competed three times for the U.S. in the Olympic Games, 1992, 1996 and 2000
Competed seven times in the U.S. National Championships
Held the U.S. record for the 1000 m
Held the U.S. indoor record for the 800 m
Won the bronze medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games
Finished 5th at the 2002 World Cross-Country Championships (short course), the best-ever finish by a U.S. woman
Five sub-four minute 1500 m, which are five of the nine fastest times ever run by an American
Only U.S. woman to have the fastest seasonal 1500 m time in the world. In 2000, she was ranked number one in the world based on time, at 3:57.40.
Named USA Track and Field Distance Runner of the Year, 2000
Ranked number one in the U.S. in 1989, 1990, 2000, 2001 and 2002
Media exposureIncludes:

Featured in national ads for Nike, Reebok, Pert Plus Shampoo, Nordic Track, Clairol, Oakley and Kikkoman Foods
Featured in the magazines Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Runner's World, Harper's Bazaar, Men's Journal, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Track & Field News, Women's Sports & Fitness, Running Times
Appeared in the 1997 Suzy Hamilton Swimsuit Calendar
In 2004, Favor-Hamilton wrote the book Fast Track: Training and Nutrition Secrets from America's Top Female Runner with Dr. Jose Antonio.
Commercial controversyDuring the 2000 Summer Olympics, Hamilton was featured in a Nike TV commercial. It portrayed her living in a big house near a forest on a dark, creepy night when a chainsaw-wielding masked killer appears behind her and attempts to kill her, reminiscent of classic horror films. She manages to outrun him thanks to her Nike sneakers, and the ad closes with the message, "Why sport? You'll live longer." NBC aired it for only a short period of time when protestors called demanding that the ad be pulled off. Most protestors argued that it made light of violence against women, while others claimed it was just too scary to watch, especially for children. Nike spokespeople retorted it was meant to be humorous, and Hamilton herself stated the ad was inspirational, since it is the woman who defeats the man.

Escort service controversyIn 2012, Hamilton admitted working for an escort service, Haley Heston’s Private Collection, in Las Vegas, after The Smoking Gun broke the story.[2] She tweeted, "I realize I have made highly irrational choices and I take full responsibility for them. 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."[2] Hamilton charged clients up to $600 per hour.[3]

References^ Hegarty, Stephanie. "Should athletes prepare for defeat?". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18902643.
^ a b "U.S. Olympian's Secret Life As Las Vegas Escort". The Smoking Gun. December 20, 2012. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/suzy-favor-hamilton-136952.
^ "Report: Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton worked as high-priced escort". Los Angeles Times. December 20, 2012. http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-suzy-hamilton-escort-20121220,0,6634254.story.
Favor-Hamilton, Suzy and Antonio, Jose: Fast Track: Training and Nutrition Secrets from America's Top Female Runner, Rodale Books, 2004. ISBN 1-59486-013-0
External linksSuzy Favor Hamilton website
"Suzy Favor Hamilton's Main Event" A Profile from Madison Magazine
'Horror' Nike Ad Campaign 2000 The controversial ad
[show]v t e World Best Year Performance in Women's 1500 m

1970 – 1971: Karin Burneleit (GDR) 1972: Lyudmila Bragina (URS) 1973: Karin Krebs (GDR) 1974: Gunhild Hoffmeister (GDR) 1975: Nina Morgunova (URS) 1976: Tatyana Kazankina (URS) 1977: Natalia Mărăşescu (ROM) 1978: Giana Romanova (URS) 1979: Totka Petrova (BUL) 1980: Tatyana Kazankina (URS) 1981 – 1982: Olga Dvirna (URS) 1983: Mary Slaney (USA) 1984: Nadezhda Ralldugina (URS) 1985: Mary Slaney (USA) 1986: Doina Melinte (ROM) 1987: Tetyana Dorovskikh (URS) 1988 – 1989: Paula Ivan (ROU) 1990: Doina Melinte (ROM) 1991: Natalya Artyomova (RUS) 1992: Hassiba Boulmerka (ALG) 1993: Qu Yunxia (CHN) 1994 – 1995: Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL) 1996: Svetlana Masterkova (RUS) 1997: Jiang Bo (CHN) 1998: Gabriela Szabo (ROM) 1999: Violeta Szekely (ROM) 2000: Suzy Favor-Hamilton (USA) 2001: Violeta Szekely (ROM) 2002 – 2003: Süreyya Ayhan (TUR) 2004: Kelly Holmes (GBR) 2005: Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR) 2006: Yuliya Fomenko (RUS) 2007 – 2009: Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR) 2010: Anna Alminova (RUS) 2011: Morgan Uceny (USA)

[show]v t e 1996 USA Olympic Track & Field Team