COURAN COVE, Australia (AP) -- Being an Olympian, American record-holder and No. 1 in your event would seem to add up to a financial bonanza.

 Not for race walker Tim Seaman.

 In a sport where stars and Olympic teammates such as Michael Johnson and Marion Jones make millions of dollars in endorsements and prize money, Seaman estimates his annual earnings at less than $10,000 -- with debts to match.

 "There's a huge disparity between a race walker and a distance runner or a sprinter or other athletes," the 28-year-old Seaman said. "A lot of them make hundreds of thousands of dollars. I make less than $10,000 a year."

 Financially, this was one of Seaman's toughest years.

 "I took a big hit," he said at the track team's pre-games training camp. "Going to Europe and to altitude training, I got $10,000 in debt this year alone."

 A big chunk of that red ink came from the purchase of a hypoxic tent, a $6,000 device in which the race walkers sleep. The tent simulates sleeping at altitude, producing more red blood cells and increasing endurance.

 "To make the Olympic team, you must sacrifice everything and that's what I've had to do," Seaman, a 1995 graduate of Wisconsin Parkside, said, "but it's been worth it. This is priceless."

 Adding to Seaman's financial woes was losing his part-time job last year in the clerical department of TD Waterhouse, a stock brokerage. His net pay was less than $100 a week, enough for spending money and gasoline for his 1986 Volkswagen with 192,000 miles on it.

 Seaman is fortunate that he doesn't have to pay for housing or food, since he has been living at the U.S. Olympic Committee's training center in Chula Vista, Calif., for 31/2 years.

 "In some ways the center is very good, but in other ways it's stressful because you're around your training partners all the time," he said. "Sometimes you need some space.

 "If I didn't live there, I don't know how much more I'd be in debt, but I can't live there forever. I need to have some semblance of a normal life."

 Seaman's meager income includes stipends from USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, and his club team, the New York Athletic Club, plus minimal contributions from the Long Island Track and Field Association and Keyspan electric company.

 The latter two organizations only began helping Seaman this year after he made the Olympic team in the 20-kilometer walk.

 Walkers receive stipends from USATF only if he finishes in the top two at the national indoor championships and in the top three at the national outdoor championships.

 "If you win (or place second or third) outdoors in June or July, you don't get your money until the following January," Seaman said. "If you win the 50K walk in February, you still don't get your money until nearly 11 months later."

 Even then, it's a small amount.

 "You can't live on that," Seaman said. "I don't want to be rich from race walking, I just want to live."

 Seaman's monetary mess will get even worse next year when he plans to move out of the training center and resume his master's studies in international relations at San Diego. His fiancee will be moving from Mexico to the United States and living with him.

 "I don't know any track athletes other than race walkers who are No. 1 in the United States and have these financial problems," he said. "I used to stress about it all the time, but there's nothing I can do. It's not easy. It's only money, but there's only so much you can get in debt before you get people angry."

 Still, Seaman is not sorry he became a race walker.

 "I've been hoping to make this team for a long time," he said. "It's an honor to be here."

 Seaman became the only U.S. qualifier for the 20K team by winning at the Olympic trials last month in Sacramento, Calif., in 1 hour, 25 minutes, 41 seconds. On Aug. 19, he broke Curt Clausen's American 20K record of 1:23:55.77 with a time of 1:23:40.0 at San Diego. En route, he also set the 15K American record of 1:02:30.2.

 This has earned Seaman some notoriety, but little financial payment.

 "I can't do this again, for the next four years, getting this far in debt," he said.