Matt Dawson knows what it's like to stand on the Olympic podium, and he was willing to put his body at risk for one more chance at the Olympics.
After breaking the ring finger on his right hand, an Australian field hockey player was given a choice by doctors: let the finger heal and sit out the Olympics, or have it amputated and compete in Paris.
Dawson chose the latter.
“I didn't have much time to make a decision,” he told Australian broadcaster Seven Network, via Olympics.com. “After I made the decision I called my wife and she said, 'I don't want you to make a rash decision, but you had all the information you needed to make a decision, not for Paris but for the rest of your life. Hopefully it won't take too long to get back on track.'”
Dawon won a silver medal with the Kookaburras at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and his coach is looking forward to seeing him return to the Olympic stage.
“Dawson's back in training,” Australia coach Colin Batch said. “He's definitely set the bar high for any player with a broken finger in the future, but full marks to Matt. He's made that decision and is clearly serious about playing in Paris.”
The 30-year-old won't have to wait long to take to the field at the Yves du Manoir Stadium in Colombes, France, as Australia open their group match against Argentina on Saturday, 27 July, the first day of the tournament following the Opening Ceremony.
With a chance to win a second Olympic medal on the line, Dawson kept things calm.
“There are a lot of bigger problems and other things that we face in life than losing a finger, so I'm really lucky that I only lost part of a finger,” he said.
