In terms of local sponsorship Sonia O'Sullivan may find out that you're probably better off winning Big Brother than an Olympic silver medal.

Michael Carruth's gold medal didn't make him a rich man. The Dublin boxer picked up an estimated maximum of £100,000 (€127,000) in sponsorship, appearance fees and promotional work.

That was in the first year. After that it dried up. Sonia - and she's well enough known just to be called by her first name - will probably top that in her home market, but only just. "The thing about the Irish market is that it's just too small for someone like Sonia to make any real money in terms of sponsorship," says Mr John Baker, a sports agent.

"If you look at how little Stephen Roche was able to ultimately capitalise on his extraordinary sporting achievements, then you can really see how small the market here is." A figure of £5,000 is a fairly standard appearance fee in Ireland for a very well-known person.

After that, as Mr John Redmond of Slattery PR said: "Her first appearance might push that up to £10,000 but after that you'd have to question just how much value you'll get from it.

"Newspaper photo editors might respond to a photocall featuring Sonia once or maybe even twice," he says.

"But then there's bound to be someone else who has grabbed the headlines."

She already has some sponsorship deals and it will be up to her management to try to fill the gaps. If Sonia secures a major deal here it is likely to occur in the food area.

"A back-of-cornflakes-box type deal is what will make her a lot of money," says Mr Redmond. BUPA, her main Irish sponsor, got little exposure from its outlay during the last year but made strong use of it this week with half-page newspaper ads to emphasise its links to the track star.

Her next appearance for the company will be in Galway in mid-October.

Of course, O'Sullivan does not depend on the marketing initiatives of Irish firms.

Winning a medal in Sydney means she will be able to command larger appearance fees on the lucrative international grand prix circuit.

Indeed, it seems her first gig back in Ireland will be a benefit. John O'Shea is said to have persuaded her to appear in Croke Park before the football replay on Saturday week for a GOAL fundraiser.