There will be a lot more than Olympic glory at stake when the artistic gymnastics starts in Athens on August 14.

Gymnasts will be aiming to maximise their earning potential during the eight days of competition and turn medal-winning performances into lucrative endorsement deals.

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The sport usually registers among the three most popular events at the Games. But while Marion Jones and Ian Thorpe enjoy million-dollar lifestyles thanks to their Olympic exploits, the same cannot be said of Russians Svetlana Khorkina and Alexei Nemov, two of the most decorated gymnasts.

"The top gymnasts can (annually) compete in six to 10 competitions where they will get very modest prize money," Andre Gueisbuhler, deputy general secretary of the sport's ruling body (FIG), told Reuters.

"At the world championships we're talking about $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 for gold, silver and bronze medals.

"It's like a present rather than prize money in comparison with tennis or golf."

One of the reasons for the lack of earning potential is the short careers of gymnasts.

"You are dealing with a sport that has a rapid turnaround of its athletes. Rarely do you see a gymnast taking part in more than two Olympics," explained Gueisbuhler.

"It may also be a question of the age as you are talking about girls who are 17-19 years old and maybe 20 at the peak of their career.

"So they are not as commercially orientated as an athlete might be in their mid 20s."

MEDIA DARLING

That does not explain why a media darling like 25-year-old Khorkina, who will be competing in her third Olympics in Athens, has failed to rival compatriot Anna Kournikova's earning power.

Both are blessed with glamorous looks. While Kournikova has proved to be a marketing phenomenon despite failing to win a single WTA title, double Olympic champion Khorkina has excelled in her sport without reaping the financial benefits.

Even if Khorkina captures a dozen titles at various events, her annual competition earnings are unlikely to cross $30,000.

Many athletes from the former Soviet republics and eastern Bloc countries -- who dominate the sport -- have yet to embrace the concept of marketing their potential.

Hungarian Szilveszter Csollany won gold on the rings at the 2000 Games and his plight sums up the predicament faced by many of his fellow competitors.

"I thought when I won the Olympics that I was going to have a sponsor, an agent, but nothing. Nothing at all," said Csollany.

"You can be an Olympic champion but you can't make money if the TV doesn't show you. The guy who won (reality show) Big Brother won more than I won in my entire career."

NO EDUCATION

With no qualification to his name, the 34-year-old admits he is struggling to support his family.

"I was safe when I was in gymnastics -- practice, competition, go home, sleep, eat, then go back to the gym. But now I'm wondering what I should do. I don't know how to do that much," he said.

"If you're an Olympic champion, or second or third, then you get money (government pension) from when you're 35.

"If you want to sit at home, you could survive. But if you want a car and things like that, then it's not enough."

Even American gymnasts struggle to capitalise on their achievements.

Kerri Strug became an instant heroine in 1996 when she landed a vault on her damaged ankle to hand the U.S. their first Olympic women's team title.

That moment in Atlanta was worth 9.712 points from the judges and, reportedly, millions of dollars in endorsement deals.

Eight years on, Strug can be found working for the Treasury Department, in the general counsel's office in Washington.

"I've always known that I'm going to have to get a job and I'm fortunate now that I don't have to depend on a pay cheque like my co-workers because of what happened with the Olympics.

"But it's not like I'm set for life either," Strug told Reuters.

"Gymnastics is just not that lucrative. I'm happy with all the extras I've had but it's not like what the papers had said I was going to make, all these millions of dollars."