It has been two decades since the Kookaburras, Australia’s men’s hockey team, secured an Olympic gold medal. However, the current squad is fiercely determined to surpass their agonizing silver medal finish in Tokyo, where they were defeated by Belgium in a dramatic, extended shoot-out. In light of this, some team members are resorting to extreme measures—like severing a finger.
Just two weeks ago, Kookaburras defender Matthew Dawson was engaged in a warm-up match in Perth when another player’s stick struck his hand, leaving one of his fingers severely injured and partially detached. Overwhelmed by the incident, Dawson feared his third Olympic campaign might already be over.
“My first thought was: OK, that’s it,” he shared with the New York Times this week. “The Olympic dream is over.”
After consulting with a surgeon, Dawson was presented with two choices: he could opt for surgery to reattach the tip of his right ring finger, which would involve months of recovery and no guarantee of full function, or he could have the finger amputated and be fit to play in Paris.
Despite his wife’s caution against taking any “rash” actions, Dawson made the decision to undergo the surgery. “We all make sacrifices and choices,” he stated. “This is the choice I made to compete at the Olympics.”
Dawson’s commitment to the Olympic cause has attracted considerable international media coverage in recent days. “The story has gained a lot more attention than I anticipated, to be honest,” he reflected in an interview with the ABC.
At the age of 30, staring down the possibility of missing what could be his final Olympics as part of the national team, Dawson expressed his conviction that he made the right choice. “If the price I had to pay was losing the tip of my finger, then that’s what I would do,” he affirmed.
The Kookaburras have a storied history in the Olympics, having been consistent medal contenders. From the 1992 Barcelona games to London 2012, they reached the podium at every event, highlighted by their gold medal win in Athens 2004. This remarkable feat makes them the only Australian team across all sports to secure medals at six consecutive Olympics.
However, their streak ended with a quarter-final loss to the Netherlands in Rio, prompting deep reflection within the team. They marked a strong comeback three years ago, yet the painful loss in the shoot-out during the Tokyo Games still lingers in their minds.
As a result, the Kookaburras are heading to Paris with an unwavering resolve to improve upon that silver medal. They face the challenge posed by the growing pool of talent in world hockey; at last year’s World Cup, they experienced a semi-final loss to Germany, followed by a defeat against the Netherlands in the third-place playoff.
Australia kicks off their campaign on Saturday at lunchtime against Argentina, the 2016 gold medalists. Following this, they will engage in a rematch of the Tokyo final against Belgium, as well as matches against India, New Zealand, and Ireland in a tough Group B. To advance to the quarter-finals, the Kookaburras must secure a top-four finish, with the goal of ranking as high as possible to avoid facing powerhouse teams in Group A in the knockout stage.
Despite Australia’s esteemed Olympic lineage in the sport, alongside 15 Champions Trophy titles and six Commonwealth Games golds, Hockey Australia has faced challenges in securing commercial support off the field.
In January, goalkeeper Andrew Charter took to LinkedIn to lament the absence of a jersey sponsor leading up to the Olympics. “Today is a sad day for my sport,” the seasoned player wrote. “For the first time in my 14-year career, I was handed my playing jersey without a major sponsor on the front. That’s right, the Kookaburras – one of Australia’s most iconic sports teams – are struggling to find a major sponsor just seven months out from the Paris Olympics.” This post drew media attention, and by May, the team announced that Kookaburra Sport had signed on as their jersey sponsor.
Whether it’s through a self-amputation or leveraging social media to secure a sponsor, the Kookaburras are evidently leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of Olympic gold in Paris.
