It has been 20 years since the Kookaburras, the Australian men’s hockey team, have won an Olympic gold medal. But so badly do the current cohort want to improve on their agonising silver medal in Tokyo, downed by Belgium in an extraordinary, protracted shoot-out, that some squad members have taken to drastic measures. Like cutting off a finger.
Two weeks ago, Kookaburras defender Matthew Dawson was participating in a warm-up match in Perth when another player’s stick collided with his hand, leaving a finger bloodied and partly detached. Dawson was devastated; he immediately thought his third Olympic campaign was over before it had begun.
“The first thought: OK, that’s it,” he told the New York Times this week. “The Olympic dream is over.”
But Dawson consulted a surgeon, who gave him two options. He could undergo surgery to reconnect the tip of his right ring finger. It would require months of recuperation, and no guarantee of full recovery. Or they could lop it off – and he would be fit to play in Paris.
Despite a warning from his wife not to do anything “rash”, Dawson underwent the surgery. “We all make sacrifices and choices,” he said. “This is the choice I made to perform at the Olympics.”
Dawson’s dedication to the Olympic cause has generated significant international media attention in recent days. “The story has blown up a lot more than I thought it would to be honest with you,” he told the ABC.
But aged 30, facing down the possibility of missing what might be his last Olympics in national team colours, Dawson said he firmly believed it was the right thing to do. “If taking the top of my finger was the price I had to pay, that’s what I would do,” he said.
The Kookaburras have long been Olympic heavyweights. In the two decades from Barcelona 1992 to London 2012, they finished on the podium at every Games – highlighted by the gold at Athens 2004. It was an unprecedented run of consistency; the Kookaburras are the only Australian team in any sport to win medals at six consecutive Olympics.
But a quarter-final loss to the Netherlands in Rio ended the streak, and led to much soul-searching for the team. They emphatically returned to form three year ago, although the heart-breaking shoot-out loss in the Japanese heat lingered in their memories.
All of which means the Kookaburras arrive in Paris determined to improve on that silver medal. Standing in their way is the increasing depth and breadth of talent in world hockey; at last year’s World Cup, the Kookaburras lost to Germany in the semi-final, before defeat to the Netherlands in the third-place match.
Australia begin their campaign at lunch time on Saturday against Argentina, who won gold in 2016. In the days that follow they will play a Tokyo final rematch against Belgium, plus ties with India, New Zealand and Ireland in a tricky group B. The Kookaburras must finish in the top four to progress to the quarter-finals, and the higher the better, to avoid heavyweights in group A in the last eight.
Despite Australia’s proud Olympic history in the sport, not to mention 15 Champions Trophy titles and six Commonwealth Games gold medals, Hockey Australia has struggled off the pitch to secure commercial support for the team.
In January, team goalkeeper Andrew Charter took to LinkedIn to bemoan the lack of a jersey sponsor ahead of the Olympics. “Today is a sad day for my sport,” the veteran wrote. “For the first time in my 14 year career I was presented with my playing jersey lacking a major front of shirt sponsor. That’s right, the Kookaburras – one of Australia’s most iconic sporting teams – are not able to find a major corporate sponsor seven months out from the Paris Olympics.” His post garnered media attention and in May the team announced that Kookaburra Sport had joined as shirt sponsor.
Whether it’s amputating a finger or taking to LinkedIn to find a sponsor, the Kookaburras are evidently stopping at nothing on their quest to win gold in Paris.
