Australian amputates part of finger to compete at Paris Olympics

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PARIS — An Australian field hockey player chose to have part of his finger amputated in order to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Matt Dawson, a 30-year-old defender for the Aussies, said on a podcast that he suffered a gruesome finger injury during a practice match earlier this month. Rather than wait for the injury to heal, he opted to have the ring finger on his right hand amputated just below the top knuckle – in part because doctors said it would allow him to return within 10 days, in time for the Olympics.

"I'm definitely closer to the end of my career than the start – and, who knows, this could be my last (Olympics)," Dawson said on the Parlez Vous Hockey podcast last week. "If I felt like 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, then that's something I have to do."

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Dawson said the nature of the injury meant he had to make a quick decision on amputation. He decided to go ahead with it, then called his wife, who cautioned him not to make "a rash decision."

"With all the information I had to make the decision, in a pretty short period of time, I still decided to take it (off)," he said on the podcast. "I can still have a pretty good functioning life, with just a little less finger to worry about."

Dawson's decision stunned and impressed some of his teammates, including Aran Zalewski, who said in a news conference in Paris that "we didn't really know what to think."

"We heard that he went to the hospital and chopped his finger off, which was pretty interesting," he said. "I know people would give an arm and a leg and even a little bit of finger to be here sometimes."

"Full marks to Matt," added Australian men's field hockey head coach Colin Batch, according to Reuters. "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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Dawson, who also competed for Australia at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2021 Tokyo Games, said he considers himself fortunate. He said so many athletes suffer devastating injuries right before the Olympics and don't have any physical way of recovering in time. He counts himself lucky that he had a choice.

"Fingers crossed we get the gold in the end," Dawson said. "It's not a really big price to pay then, is it?"

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.