A DECADE after hanging up his running shoes and ending his athletics career, Steve Cram is "competing" in the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City - not on the field but in the TV studio.

As part of the BBC presenting team, he'll be helping front over 90 hours of coverage from Utah. This time the competition is to provide viewers with a winning commentary about what's going on and who's winning what.

This is the Gateshead-born runner's first Winter Olympics, and the former 1,500m champion says: "Having had a career in sport helps a lot, particularly with live television. The way you have to make quick decisions reminds me a lot of racing. The key thing is that you have the confidence to go with things."

He takes his place in the presenting line-up alongside Sue Barker, someone else who now makes a living talking about sport rather than playing it.

Of course, the former British number one tennis player may find it galling that she's best remembered now for hosting a TV quiz, A Question Of Sport, than climbing to number three in the world tennis rankings. At least it's better than being known as one of Cliff Richard's old girlfriends.

She and Cram are among the most successful of the sportsmen and women who face the camera when their sporting chances are all used up. They have a good track record, working their way up from commentating to the trickier task of holding together a live sports programme. Not everyone finds the TV rat race is a runaway success.

Getting their face on the box isn't difficult. There's a never-ending desire for experts to air their opinions during sports coverage and, who better to employ, than someone who used to compete in the competitions. Spin-offs, such as Saint And Greavsie and the Match Of The Day panel of pundits, are little TV shows in their own right.

But taking a person away from the sporting arena they know can have mixed results. Former boxer Eamonn Andrews found life outside the ring first as a sports commentator and then with three very successful series, This Is Your Life, What's My Line? and children's show Crackerjack. He also presented the nightly regional magazine programme Today for Thames Television. But cast as ITV's answer to chat show king Parkinson in The Eamonn Andrews Show, and the result was more often embarrassing than not as he quizzed the rich and famous.

Former England footballer Gary Lineker found a halfway house between sport and entertainment in the comedy sporting quiz They Think It's All Over and appearing in a series of much talked about commercials for crisps, before assuming the mantle of Des Lynam to front Match Of The Day.

Game shows are fairly safe bets for sportsmen seeking to expand their horizons. Cricketer David Gower is the perfect foil for Lineker as the other team captain on They Think It's All Over. Even John McEnroe, the you-cannot-be-serious tennis champion, found a new role presenting a US quiz show The Chair, in which contestants were subjected to all sorts of hazards while strapped down and being asked questions.

The BBC has high hopes of footballer Ian Wright, signed up to replace Ant and Dec as presenter of the Saturday night People Like Us series. He'd already proved his worth with his late-night ITV chat show and the Beeb looks set to use him in a variety of entertainment programmes.

Jimmy Hill went from soccer player and Coventry City manager to LWT head of sport and deputy controller of programmes as well as football pundit. Eddie Waring managed Dewsbury and Leeds rugby league clubs before becoming the voice of rugby league on the BBC, as well as a presenter on It's A Knockout. Ron Pickering was an athletics coach prior to being a BBC sports commentator.

While most stay confined to the sporting arena, a few find their way out into the wider world. Former British number one singles and doubles tennis champion Andrew Castle is a regular on the breakfast time sofa as a GMTV presenter. He joined in 2000 after providing the station's Wimbledon coverage for several years. His on-camera career began in 1992 alongside Sue Barker, presenting tennis on Sky Television. In his current role, he's more concerned with breaking news and discussing topical issues than getting his first serve in court.

Not everyone enjoys success in front of the camera. Golden girl of swimming Sharron Davies moved into TV, radio and public relations when her Olympic silver medal-winning swimming career ended. As Amazon in TV's Gladiators, she was able to put her athletic ability to good use. Her time as a presenter of C4's Big Breakfast was less happy and briefer than anticipated.

Just occasionally, sportsmen display thespian talents. Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller was one of the earliest, climbing out of the pool and swinging on jungle vines as one of the early screen Tarzans. And more recently, after tough guy supporting roles in films such as Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, footballer Vinnie Jones won a starring role in The Mean Machine - even if he did play a disgraced England footballer.

* Coverage of the Winter Olympics continues on BBC1 and BBC2 all next week.