Field hockey players may be just as tough as ice hockey competitors.
Australian men’s field hockey player Matt Dawson made clear he was going to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics no matter what.
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Matt Dawson broke the ring finger on his right hand in the weeks before he was set to play for Australia in the Olympics. Instead of missing the Summer Games, he decided to have part of his ring finger amputated. (Luis Veniegra/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Dawson broke the ring finger on his right hand in the weeks before he was set to play for Australia in the Olympics. Instead of sitting out the matches he had been working hard to compete in, Dawson decided to have part of his ring finger amputated.
“I made an informed decision with the plastic surgeon at the time not only for the opportunity to play in Paris but for life after as well,” he told Australia’s 7News. “The best option was for me to take the top of my finger off. It’s a bit of a change at the moment and an exciting challenge, I guess.”
Matt Dawson broke the ring finger on his right hand in the weeks before he was set to play for Australia in the Olympics. Instead of missing the Summer Games, he decided to have part of his ring finger amputated. (Luis Veniegra/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“I didn’t have much time to make the decision. 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.”
Australia won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after winning their group. The team eventually lost the gold medal game to Belgium.
The team will enter the Olympics with victories last month over Britain and Germany.
Matt Dawson holds the Australian 2024 Paris Olympic Games field hockey squad announcement on July 1, 2024. (Will Russell/Getty Images)
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Australia begins its run back to the podium with a match against Argentina on July 27. The team will then play Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand and India before the knockout matches begin.
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