Australian Olympian amputates his broken finger in order to take part at Paris 2024 Games
Australian Olympian Matt Dawson had his finger amputated in order to keep his Paris 2024 dreams alive.
The Aussie hockey player suffered a horrific injury to his ring finger on his right hand in the build-up to this summer's Games, plunging his hopes of representing his country into serious doubt.
But after Dawson - who won silver with at Tokyo 2020 - was told he would make a much speedier recovery by having the broken portion of his finger amputated, he decided to make the bold move.
“I made an informed decision with the plastic surgeon at the time, not only for the opportunity to play in Paris but for life after as well,” Dawson told 7NEWS, per Olympics.com.
“The best option was for me to take the top of my finger off. It’s a bit of a change at the moment and an exciting challenge, I guess.
“I didn’t have much time to make the decision. I had made the decision and then I called my wife, and she said, ‘I don’t want you to make a rash decision', but I had all the information I needed to make the decision not for Paris but for life after.
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"Hopefully, I can not take too long to get back to form."
The Kookaburras are one of the favourites to win gold in Paris, so Dawson clearly felt this opportunity was on he wasn't willing to miss.
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But his coach, Colin Batch, said he's not sure he would have done the same if he was in that position - but he did make sure to praise Dawson's level of commitment.
"The best way of recovering from it was just to chop the end of the finger off," Batch said.
"That's what he decided to do. It's not something a coach can decide for a player.
"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."
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Australia face Rio 2016 champions Argentina in their first match of Paris 2024 on July 27.