The 2024 Olympics are approaching and once again we have been reminded by the sacrifices athletes make to compete at this international event.
Sure, there are thousands of hours of training and probably a strict diet, but what about Australian hockey player Matthew Dawson who had part of his ring finger removed so he could compete at the games?
That’s dedication
Dawson broke his finger two weeks out from leaving for France, but decided to have the top of his finger removed rather than have it in cast and lose out on his chance at the Olympics.
Australia coach Colin Batch commended Dawson for his desire and commitment to the cause.
‘It was a nasty knock,’ he said.
‘He saw the specialist, and they could have put it in a cast, but almost the best way of recovering from it was just to chop the end of the finger off, so that’s what he decided to do.
I can sympathise. I still play hockey at an extremely low level and broke my thumb two years ago, it took six weeks to heal and still feels a bit weird even now, so to wait for it to heal naturally would most certainly put him out of the games. But would I cut it off to play at the Olympics? Probably not my thumb, but maybe another finger, if I was honest.
I’m reminded of my rowing coach at school who had rowed at two Olympics. She said if you told an Olympian ‘you can take this drug, you will win, but you will die the next day’, most of them would take it.
Would you make such a sacrifice to compete at the Olympics?
.
