Croatia's Cupic loses finger – July 25, 2008, AFP

Croatian handball player Ivan Cupic has been forced out of the Olympics after losing a finger in a freak accident involving his wedding ring.

Cupic, 22, was at a training camp in the coastal town of Rijeka when he tripped and caught a wire fence with his wedding ring which sheared off his finger as he fell.

"We took him to the hospital in Rijeka, where unfortunately I had to amputate two-thirds of the finger," said the squad doctor and surgeon Mladen Miskulin.

"Of course he cannot play with such an injury."

Defending champions Croatia are amongst the gold medal favorites in Beijing.

This news article highlights the dangers of wearing jewelry while at work and around moving equipment. Although the Croatian handball player was not around machinery at the time, each year there are similar industrial injuries throughout the country that aren’t as well publicized. The only reason we heard about this one is because of his rating as one of the top Olympic athletes at Beijing.

Such an injury and the amputation of two-thirds of a finger is tragic, even more so for an Olympic Handball athlete.

How about you?

Today before you go out to work, ensure you have all your jewelry removed.