Suzy Favor Hamilton was a top American middle-distance runner from the early 1990s to 2000, a three-time Olympian after becoming a nine-time N.C.A.A. champion at Wisconsin. She was so accomplished that the Big Ten Conference named the award given to its female athlete of the year in her honor.
So it came as a shock Thursday when Favor Hamilton, 44, told the Web site The Smoking Gun that for the past year, her life as a real estate agent, mother and motivational speaker had also included work as a $600-an-hour prostitute for an escort service in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities. She called the behavior “a huge mistake.'
The disclosure, while startling, followed admissions by Favor Hamilton in recent years that her stellar running career and her personal life had sometimes been troubled. Since retiring, Favor Hamilton has said she felt enormous pressure as an athlete, not only to win but to be perfect.

And she has said that she struggled with family tragedy, self-doubt and an eating disorder while trying to succeed in a sport that gains significant attention once every four years during the Summer Olympics, where winners are celebrated, usually briefly, and where losers are quickly forgotten after putting enormous effort into one moment.

At the 2000 Sydney Games, Favor Hamilton later said, she fell on purpose in the homestretch of the 1,500 meters when she realized she could not win the gold medal. She told The Mi.