Australian Field Hockey star amputates part of his finger to compete in 2024 Paris Olympics

Australian field hockey star and three-time Olympian Matt Dawson has amputated part of his own finger in order to ensure that he will be able to compete in the Paris Olympics following a recent injury. Per NBC News , Dawson broke his ring finger while training earlier this month, and faced either a recovery process that would have kept him from competing in Paris or amputating part of his finger.

After being hit with a hockey stick while training, Dawson had been given the choice between either a four-to-six month recovery process or amputating his finger. He consulted with his wife, who warned him against making a "rash" decision. Ultimately, Dawson chose amputation in order to allow him to compete in Paris, taking about an inch off the end of his ring finger just below the top knuckle.

"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," Dawson said on the "Parlez Vous Hockey" podcast. "If taking the top of my finger was the price I had to pay, that's what I would do... [If] we get the gold in the end, it's not a really big price to pay then."

Dawson is part of an Australian Field Hockey team that is seeking its first gold medal since the Athens Olympics in 2004. The team most recently won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.