Matt Dawson knows what it's like to stand on an Olympic podium, and he was willing to put his body on the line for another chance at the Games.
After breaking the ring finger on his right hand, the Australian field hockey player faced a choice from his doctors: let the finger recover and miss the Olympics, or amputate the finger to compete in Paris.
Dawson chose the latter.
“I didn’t have much time to make the decision,” he told Australian broadcaster Seven Network, via Olympics.com. “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. Hopefully, I can not take too long to get back to form.”
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Dawon earned silver with the Kookaburras at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and his coach is eager to see him back on the Olympic stage.
“Dawson is back in training now,” Australia coach Colin Batch said. “He’s certainly set the bar high for anyone getting a broken finger in the future, but full marks to Matt; he’s made that decision and obviously really committed to playing in Paris,”
The 30-year-old won't have to wait long to get onto the field at Yves du Manoir Stadium in Colombes, France. Australia will open up group play against Argentina on Saturday, July 27, the first full day of the Games following the Opening Ceremony.
While a chance at collecting a second Olympic medal is on the line, Dawson kept things in perspective.
“There are plenty of other issues and other people going on with other stuff in their lives that are bigger than losing a finger, so I’m very fortunate that it’s just a little bit of my finger,” he said.
