What a weekend it was for Irish sport. Darren Clarke became the latest million-dollar man, Ken Doherty pocketed £50,000 in Malta, and for his European indoor gold, Mark Carroll picked up, well . . . nothing actually.

There continues to be a distinct lack of big-time prize-money in the world of track and field, and while Carroll can expect to receive a small bonus from his shoe contract and perhaps the odd appearance fee later in the season, distance running, unless you're at the very top, is certainly not going to make you a millionaire.

There are some exceptions in the case of IAAF competitions. For example, Maurice Greene's three gold medals at the World Championships in Seville last summer earned him $120,000 (in prizemoney alone) for about 130 seconds worth of racing. Now that's good money if you can get it.