Suzy Favor Hamilton
(Last Updated 9/00)
Though she has been one of the top American middle-distance runners for more than a decade, it wasn't until 2000 that Suzy Favor Hamilton established herself as a major factor on the world scene. Coming back from an achilles injury that prevented her from running the 1999 outdoor season, Favor Hamilton proved herself to be in great early-season form, running a 15:06.48 5,000m on March 18, 2000, and following it up with a 4:05.13 at the Drake Relays on April 29, 2000. Favor Hamilton's real breakthrough, however, came at the Prefontaine Classic on June 24, 2000, where she raced Romania's World Champion, Gabriela Szabo to the finish line, just barely getting nipped at the tape, but finishing second in 4:00.79 (to Szabo's 4:00.73). Favor Hamilton finished second to Regina Jacobs at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she was just happy to make the Olympic team. The big surprise came 12 days later when Favor Hamilton annihilated a world-class field at the Oslo Grand Prix Meet, running a PR of 3:57.40, and setting herself up as a strong contender for an Olympic medal. (Note: Though Favor Hamilton did qualify for the Olympic 1,500m final, she collapsed in the final straightaway, got up, and struggled home in a disappointing 12th -- 4:23.05.)
Suzy Favor Hamilton first made a name for herself nationally as a collegiate runner at Wisconsin, where she collected 23 Big 10 titles, 9 NCAA titles (a record that still stands), was a 14-time All American and was voted winner of the Honda Broderick Cup (awarded to the nation's top collegiate athlete) her senior year.
Upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1990, Favor Hamilton moved to Eugene, Oregon to train with Dick Brown. She remained one of the top middle distance runners in the U.S., finishing fourth or higher in either the 800m or the 1,500m at the U.S. Outdoor Championships every year from 1989 to 2000, with the exception of 1998 when she did not compete due to injury.
A three-time Olympian ('92, '96, '00) and three-time World Championship team member ('91, '95, '97), Favor-Hamilton has consistently been one of the fastest U.S. middle distance runners for more than a decade. However, heading into 2000, some felt that she hadn't quite lived up to the potential that she had shown during college, noting her failure to qualify for a World Championship or Olympic final in five tries.
Favor Hamilton started to turn her career around after the 1996 Olympic Games, where she was disappointed with her performance. She returned to Madison, Wisconsin to work with her college coach, Peter Tegen, where the began to recreate the magic formula that had worked so well during her college days. In 1998, on her 30th birthday, Favor Hamilton broke through the 4:00 barrier, running 3:58.43 and becoming on the second American woman (the other being Mary Slaney) to run under 4:00 in the 1,500m.
Favor Hamilton's "comeback" attempt was briefly thwarted early in 1999, when she underwent achilles surgery to repair a partial tear that she had suffered while running a 1:58.92 indoor 800m American Record at a meet in Boston. The time off from running gave Favor Hamilton some time to ponder her future, and realize that her time in the sport was finite, and that she had better take advantage of it while she still had time.
Also around that time, she had to deal with the tragedy of her brother Dan's death. A manic depressive who had gone off his medication, Dan leapt to his death from an eight-story building on September 9, 1999. His death affected Favor Hamilton profoundly, and made her all the more determined to succeed at her running. "You just don't know when things are going to be taken away from you. That's carried over to my running," she said. An artist in her spare time, Favor Hamilton intends to auction off some of her work in order to raise money and spread awareness about manic depression.
In her free time, Favor Hamilton works on her art, models, works as an assistant coach to the Wisconsin cross country and track teams and spends times with her dogs (among other things). She is married to former baseball player, Mark Hamilton.
Stats
Birthdate: 8/8/68 (Stevens
Point, WI)
High School: Stevens Point High School, Stevens Point, WI (1986)
College: University of Wisconsin (1990), Graphic Arts
Height: 5-4
Coach: Peter Tegen
Current Residence: New Glarus, WI
Personal: Married to Mark Hamilton
Links
The
Official Web Site - including a Diary,
Suzy's Interests,
Training
Tips, Photos,
Bio
and News
USATF
Bio (2000)
NBCOlympics.com
Bio (2000)
TrackandField.com
Bio (2000)
A Brief Chat from Runner's World Online: October 2000 | August
2000 | January
1996
Carpe Diem - Profile from IAAF
Returning the Favor - Profile from the Madison, WI Capitol Times
1,500m runner not just another pretty face
1,500m runner back in favor after tragedy
First Person leading up to Trials (from Runner's World)
Favor Hamilton has fough criticism, tragedy on road back to Olympics
Suzy stumbles; Szabo survives
Healthy Favor Hamilton running better than ever
Favor Hamilton hitting her stride
NBCOlympics.com Feature
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