July 26, 2024, 3:12 PM
July 26, 2024, 3:12 PM
An Australian field hockey player has opted to amputate part of his finger in order to compete at the Paris Olympics.
Matt Dawson severely broke a finger on his right hand during a team practice two weeks ago.
Recovery from surgery to repair it would have taken months.
That’s why, The 30-year-old decided to have his finger removed from the knuckle up to participate in his third Games, which surprised his teammates and coach.
He will take to the field to face Argentina this Saturday, just 16 days after being injured.
Dawson told reporters the fracture was so severe that she fainted in the locker room when she saw her finger. She thought her Olympic dream was over.
He urgently consulted a plastic surgeon who told him that even with surgery to repair the finger, and the long recovery time, he might not regain full function. But if it were amputated, he could play again in 10 days.
Despite his wife’s warning not to do anything “hasty,” Dawson says he made his “informed” decision that afternoon.
“I’m definitely closer to the end of my career than the beginning and who knows, these could be my last ones.” [Juegos Olímpicos]and if I felt like I could still give my best, that’s what I was going to do,” he told the Parlez Vous hockey podcast.
“If cutting off the tip of my finger was the price I had to pay, I would do it.”
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Team captain Aran Zalewski said the decision caused a wave of shock among his peers, but in the end they supported Dawson.
“We didn’t really know what to think, and then we found out that he had gone to the hospital and cut off his finger, which was quite interesting because I know people would give an arm, a leg and even a bit of a finger to be here,” she told a news conference in Paris.
Earlier this week, Australian coach Colin Batch said Dawson had returned to training with the team.
“A plus point for Matt. Obviously he’s very committed to playing in Paris. I’m not sure I would have done it, but he’s done it, it’s great,” he told Australia’s Seven News Network.
This is not the first time that Dawson is facing an extreme injurycso he loses an eye after being hit by a hockey stick in the run-up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
He managed to continue playing for his team and they won gold at that tournament, and a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
