Tomlinson tears into football's gold rush

'I've been doing this (training) a long time - every day, every year. It's hard,' says the 6ft 51/2in Teessider, who has twice broken the British record and finished fifth in the 2004 Olympics.

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Tomlinson rented out his house to fund his career as a long jumper

'I'm a Middlesbrough fan and I'll probably get slaughtered for this, but how do footballers justify what they're paid? Alen Boksic was on £64,000 a week and he just strolled around.

'I know there are others like Steven Gerrard and John Terry who work hard. But some, they stroll around for £30,000 a week. I know the work I put in to do what I do is more than they do.'

Tomlinson, an outside medal shot next week, would be lucky to earn £30,000 in a year. He says he was close to quitting his sport four months ago because he could not pay the bills when his sponsor, Asics, dumped him.

'I had to rent out my house just to stay in the sport,' Tomlinson, 25, said. 'If it hadn't been for Lottery funding I'd have had to find another job.'

Tomlinson, fiance of actress Lucia Rovardi, admits he has competed on the continent this summer because of appearance money.

He was a bright hope when, at the age of 20, he beat by 4cm 1964 Olympic champion Lynn Davies's 34-year-old British record of 8m 23cm. His career stalled after severe hernia, heel and ankle injuries.