An Olympic athlete has had his finger amputated after he suffered an injury just so he can play in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Just two weeks ago, Matthew Dawson, a 30-year-old hockey player from Australia, suffered a badly broken finger on his right-hand during a team training session in Perth, Australia, and, after consulting with doctors, he found out the injury would take months to recover from and that he would miss out on the opportunity to play in his third Olympic Games.
But instead of opting for a long recovery, Dawson made a decision that would shock his teammates and has already made headlines around the world. He decided to amputate his finger so that he could compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Its not just that - it’s the state of mind to get to the point of participating at the Olympics. Imagine investing years into something just for some irrelevant random thing to block that.
I don’t really se how an athlete like that missing a finger could ever compare to the decades of regret.
Athletes that have to drop out of events they trained for years can cause them serious psychological damage (with a lot more consequences than a finger ever would). And Olympics are for most athletes once in a lifetime opportunity and goal. Its not a vacation you can just choose.
If the finger can be saved after a couple of months it’s still a bad move since the guy has a good 50 years of his life left.
This was his third Olympics, too.
I’ve learned that it’s only half a finger, so it’s just a nub now. Which I guess is a little better? Still. Bad move, potentially.
Idk, ppl value things differently.