Australian hockey player amputated his finger to compete in the Paris Olympics

A hockey player from Australia has opted to have part of his finger amputated to be able to compete at the Paris Olympics. 

Broken finger two weeks before

Matt Dawson, a 30 year old Australian, badly broke one of his fingers on his right hand just two weeks before he was set to compete in Paris. 

After being hit by a hockey stick during a training session in Perth, the Australian athlete went to hospital to treat the finger. 

The impact from the hockey stick had nearly entirely severed the top of one of his fingers and caused a huge concern that he may not be able to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games. 

Drop out or amputate

Doctors who treated Dawson said his injury would take at least four to six months to recover, meaning he would not be able to compete in Paris. 

Instead of accepting his fate, and rescinding his chance at competing, Matt decided instead to amputate his finger so that he could continue to play hockey.

One inch taken off

A surgeon removed roughly an inch off the end of the ring finger on his right hand, just below the top knuckle. 

Although Dawson’s wife had advised him against making any “rash decisions”, the Australian hockey defender went ahead with the surgery anyway.

On the Parlez Vous Hockey podcast, Matt Dawson stated, “With all the information I had to make the decision, in a pretty short period of time, I still decided to take it and I can still have a pretty good functioning life with just a little less finger to worry about”.

No impediments

Dawson is now in Paris competing in the 2024 Olympic Games, and has since stated that the finger has healed well and has not impeded his performance.

The Australian hockey player proved this yesterday, when his team, nicknamed the Kookaburras, won their first game against the Argentinians.

However, Matt added that “You notice it sometimes when you try to pull something off, and the tip of that finger isn’t there to get a bit of grip”.