An Olympic athlete has had his finger amputated after suffering an injury to ensure his participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Just two weeks ago, 30-year-old Australian hockey player Matthew Dawson sustained a severe finger fracture on his right hand during a team training session in Perth, Australia. After consulting with doctors, he learned that the injury would take months to heal, causing him to miss the chance to compete in his third Olympic Games.
Rather than endure a lengthy recovery, Dawson made a surprising decision that has garnered international attention. He chose to amputate his finger to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“There was a bit of shock within the team,” said Dawson’s teammate, Aran Zalewski, in an interview leading up to the opening ceremony on Friday evening. “We didn’t really know what to think. And then we heard that he went to the hospital and had his finger removed, which was pretty interesting because I know people would give an arm and a leg, and even a bit of finger, to be here sometimes.”
“When you’ve spent a lifetime making choices and sacrifices to compete at the highest level, I think for him it was an easy decision,” Zalewski continued. “We’ve got his back. We’re fully supportive of his decision. We played a game [on Monday], and he seems absolutely fine. It’s great to see that his finger is going to be all right, and he’ll be able to play with us throughout the tournament.”
Dawson, who underwent right hip surgery a month after the Commonwealth Games in 2018, has a history of injuries. He suffered a fractured eye socket in February 2018 during a training accident, causing him to miss the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia the following month.
Dawson began playing hockey at eight years old after his sister stopped playing netball, and his parents signed her up for the local hockey team.
“As little brothers tend to do, I tagged along and watched my sister play hockey over the next couple of years,” Dawson explained in a November 2018 interview.
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Dawson is now set to be a three-time Olympian, having competed in 2016 and 2020, where he won a silver medal with his squad after losing to Belgium on penalties. He is also a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist in 2018 and 2022 and has two Hockey World Cup appearances, where his team placed third in 2018 and fourth in 2023.
