Sean Baldock is hoping to go out in a blaze of glory in Athens.

Three days after returning from Greece, Baldock will quit full-time athletics and try his hand at being a fireman.

At 27, Baldock is fed up at having to live with his parents in Hastings just to survive on his meagre lottery funding and has decided it is time to get a proper job.

He is also due to complete a course to become a sports masseur, like fellow Sussex Olympians Mick Jones and Nick Buckfield, to supplement his £6,600 annual grant from UK Athletics.

It is a step into the unknown for the former Hastings AC star, who realises it could mean the Olympic 4x400m relay is his last appearance at the very top level.

Baldock said: "I honestly don't know how it will affect my athletics. I hope I can stay at the same level but the question is whether I will be able to.

"It is going to be quite hard but that's the way it's got to be because of the money situation. I just can't afford to live on the money I get from the lottery and getting a house is not even a consideration at the moment.

"I'm young enough to have another Olympics in me but we'll have to see. I know how much training I need to do and I think I can fit that in around work as long as I'm not too tired.

"I have alway fancied being a fireman and the work should at least help keep me fit. I don't think I could sit at a desk. I would be too hyperactive and start running around the office."

With the Great Britain relay team genuine medal contenders, Baldock could go from climbing on to the podium at the biggest sporting event in the world to climbing a ladder within a week.

He has a proficiency test at Ridge Fire Station on September 4, when he will have to prove he is fit enough to become a retained fire fighter.

"It is completely ridiculous to go from one extreme to the other," said Baldock. "I just hope I don't get injured at the Olympics because failing the fitness test would be really embarrassing.

"I'm not saying I would prefer to stay full time but I would like the choice. A lot of people going to Athens have said it will be their last full time year and then they are going into work.

"The money is just not there and that is why we don't do as well as a sport. You make ten times more money being a footballer in division three than being an international athlete."

It is not only financial concerns which are troubling Baldock at the moment. His current form has been so poor that his place in the relay team is under threat from American-born Malachi Davis.

Baldock finished third ahead of Davis in the 400m at the Olympic trials but failed to gain the qualifying time, meaning the American got the last place in the squad for the individual event.

Now Baldock's position in the first-choice relay quartet is also in danger from Davis, who controversially gained a British passport just two days before the Olympic trials.

Of the seven-man relay squad, Tim Benjamin, Daniel Caines and hurdler Chris Rawlinson are almost certain to get the nod, leaving Baldock to sweat on his selection with the other three.

"I would say I am fighting for the fourth place with the American guy, I should say British guy," said Baldock. "I would be a bit annoyed if he got my place but hopefully my experience will count for something "I think it was a bit dodgy he got a passport so close to the trials. If it had been six months before you know where you stand but the fact it was only a few days before ruffled a few feathers.

"There is the possibility I could go all the way to Athens and not run at all. I would be gutted if it was me who missed out and that is why I can't understand why they picked seven.

"Someone won't run, whatever happens.

"My Mum, Dad and girlfriend are all going out so if I don't run it is not just disappointing for myself but also for them as they have spent so much money to get there."

Baldock will have a nervous wait to see if he makes the grade with the 4x400m relay final the traditional curtain-closer to the track and field schedule.

If the British quartet get through to the final, as expected, it will be a complete contrast to four years ago when Baldock's Olympic dream ended almost before it had begun.

On the very first day of the Games nerves seemed to get the better of him as he finished fifth in his heat and picked up an injury which ruled him out of the relay.

"Although it was amazing going to Sydney it was a bit of an anti-climax really," he admits. "I had always wanted to run against Michael Johnson so everything was set up when I was drawn in the same heat as him.

"I got to about 150 metres to go and my whole body seized up. I couldn't physically lift my knees and that is why I died down the final straight.

"I had damaged all the nerve endings in my back. It was the first day and my championships were all over. I was completely gutted."

With Britain ranked fifth in the world, Baldock's chances of adding to his impressive collection of relay medals from major championships look promising.

He won golds at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 1998 European Championships to go with the bronze he won at the World Indoor Championships last year.

"It would be crazy to win a medal. I have got near enough every other medal so it would be nice to complete the set," he said.

"The relay is quite open so we have got a good chance of coming anywhere between sixth and third. I think we can run under three minutes and if we do that we will be in with a chance.

"It is always the ultimate goal for any athlete to go the Olympics and even bigger to win a medal. If it was gold it would put the icing on the cake for my running career."

Now that would be something to tell his new workmates at the fire station.