Australian field hockey player, Matt Dawson, has made a drastic decision to amputate part of his finger to compete in the Paris Olympics.
According to BBC, Dawson suffered a severe finger injury during a team training session in Perth two weeks ago.
With recovery from surgery estimated to take months, the 30-year-old opted to amputate his finger from the knuckle up, a choice that surprised his teammates and coach.
Despite the injury occurring just 16 days before the Kookaburras’ match against Argentina, Dawson is determined to play in his third Olympic Games.
He recounted the severity of the injury, revealing that he passed out upon seeing his finger in the changing room and feared his Olympic aspirations were over.
After consulting a plastic surgeon, Dawson learned that while surgery could repair the finger, it might not fully restore its function, and recovery would be lengthy.
The alternative was amputation, which would allow him to return to the field in 10 days.
Against his wife’s advice to avoid rash decisions, Dawson chose to amputate his finger, stating, “I’m definitely closer to the end of my career than the start and, who knows, this could be my last [Olympics], and if I felt that I could still perform at my best then that’s what I was going to do. If taking the top of my finger was the price I had to pay, that’s what I would do.”
The decision shocked his teammates, but they ultimately supported him.
Team captain Aran Zalewski remarked, “We didn’t really know what to think, and then we heard that he went to the hospital and chopped his finger off, which was pretty interesting because I know people would give an arm and a leg and even a little bit of finger to be here sometimes. When you’ve spent a lifetime of choice and sacrifice to come and compete at the highest level, I think for him it was an easy decision.”
Kookaburras coach Colin Batch expressed admiration for Dawson’s commitment, saying, “Full marks to Matt. Obviously he’s really committed to playing in Paris. I’m not sure I would have done it, but he’s done it, so great.”
Dawson’s resilience is not new; he nearly lost an eye from a hockey stick injury before the 2018 Commonwealth Games but still played for the Kookaburras, leading them to gold.
He also competed in the Tokyo Olympics, where the team won silver.
