Missing the Olympics was not an option for Matthew Dawson, which is why the 30-year-old Australian field hockey player decided to have his badly broken finger amputated so that he could compete at the 2024 Games.
During training earlier this month, Dawson broke a finger on his right hand. The break was so bad he passed out in the changing room when he saw what it looked like. Had he chosen to have the digit surgically repaired, a plastic surgeon told him he had months of recovery ahead and the finger may not ever regain full function.
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Dawson did not want to miss out on representing his country for a third time and chose amputation from the knuckle up, which required him to miss only 10 days.
“With all the information I had to make the decision, in a pretty short period of time, I still decided to take it and I can still have a pretty good functioning life with just a little less finger to worry about,” Dawson told the Parlez Vous Hockey podcast last week.
When Dawson’s teammates learned about his decision, they were stunned, but also not surprised.
“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,” Australian captain Aran Zalewski said.
“I’m not sure I would have done it, but he’s done it, so great,” head coach Colin Bath said.
A broken finger is just another on the list of injuries Dawson has had to deal with in his career. Along with hip surgery, he also suffered a fractured eye socket during a February 2018 training session.
As Dawson’s contemplated his decision, he realized he might not still be playing when the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles come around. If missing part of his finger wasn’t going to affect his ability to play, he felt that amputation was the best choice.
“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,” said Dawson, who helped the Kookaburras to a silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“If taking the top of my finger was the price I had to pay, that’s what I would do.”
Australia will begin group play Saturday against Argentina.