Rhiannon Ingle
The athlete who removed a body part just so he could compete in the 2024 Olympics has opened up about his decision.
Australian hockey star, Matt Dawson, made headlines last week after the news broke that he chose to amputate part of his finger in order to represent the Australian men's team, nicknamed the Kookaburras, in the prestigious sporting event.
The surgery came after Dawson unfortunately broke a finger on his right hand whilst training a few weeks back.
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He was later informed that it would have taken months for him to recover from the surgery to repair it, as per the BBC.
So, in order to speed the process along, the 30-year-old athlete opted to instead have the digit removed from the knuckle up so he'd be able to participate in his third Olympics Games, taking on Argentina on Saturday (27 July) - just 16 days after the injury.
The Kookaburras went on to celebrate a 1-0 win over Argentina in their opening Pool B match at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Colombes.
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Previously explaining his decision, on the Parlez Vous Hockey podcast, Dawson explained: "I'm definitely closer to the end of my career than the start and, who knows, this could be my last [Olympics], and if I felt that 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, that's what I would do."
He's also defended his 'informed decision' telling 7NEWS: "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.
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"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."
The dedicated athlete revealed he 'didn’t have much time to make the decision', continuing: "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."
Dawson added: "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."
Team captain, Aran Zalewski, has since shared his reaction to Dawson's decision, acknowledging that it definitely came as a shock but his team supported him.
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"We didn't really know what to think, and then we heard that he went to the hospital and chopped his finger off, which was pretty interesting because I know people would give an arm and a leg and even a little bit of finger to be here sometimes," he said at a news conference in Paris.
"When you've spent a lifetime of choice and sacrifice to come and compete at the highest level, I think for him it was an easy decision."