Current:Home > NewsAustralian amputates part of finger to compete at Paris Olympics -FinanceMind
Australian amputates part of finger to compete at Paris Olympics
View
Date:2025-04-18 11:01:38
Editor’s note: FollowOlympics opening ceremony live updates.
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."
Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the U.S. Olympic team and where they are from
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."
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
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.
veryGood! (94)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
- Taylor Swift makes history as most decorated artist at Billboard Music Awards
- The burial site of the people Andrew Jackson enslaved was lost. The Hermitage says it is found
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Shanghai bear cub Junjun becomes breakout star
- Dick Van Dyke credits neighbors with saving his life and home during Malibu fire
- Stock market today: Asian shares advance, tracking rally on Wall Street
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- 'Maria' review: Angelina Jolie sings but Maria Callas biopic doesn't soar
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Supreme Court allows investors’ class action to proceed against microchip company Nvidia
- Sabrina Carpenter Shares Her Self
- Southern California forecast of cool temps, calm winds to help firefighters battle Malibu blaze
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- SCDF aids police in gaining entry to cluttered Bedok flat, discovers 73
- Taxpayers could get $500 'inflation refund' checks under New York proposal: What to know
- Southern California forecast of cool temps, calm winds to help firefighters battle Malibu blaze
Recommendation
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
Morgan Wallen sentenced after pleading guilty in Nashville chair
'The Voice' Season 26 finale: Coach Michael Bublé scores victory with Sofronio Vasquez
Singaporean killed in Johor expressway crash had just paid mum a surprise visit in Genting
'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
Sabrina Carpenter Shares Her Self
How to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for free: Special date, streaming info
North Dakota regulators consider underground carbon dioxide storage permits for Midwest pipeline