GTL x LOA Presents: The Olympian Spotlight series. Read More
November 17, 2022
Wallace Octavius Obey seems like the type of person who believes he can do anything. Even the things that don’t really interest him.
“Let’s just say, I was a little bit on the mouthy side,” Obey told Go Team Liberia in our Olympian of the Month interview. “When I was younger, I never lacked confidence.”
He was not a self-proclaimed sprinter, nor did he have the typical dream of attending the Olympics. Yet, he led Liberia into the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games as the flag bearer and team captain.
Obey’s Olympic journey began after he competed in a track meet between the University of Liberia (LU) and Cuttington University. He can’t remember if it was in 1982 or ‘83, but he remembers the race vividly. During his third year in college, he helped his Cuttington teammates close a 100 meter-lead and ultimately win the 4×400 meter relay. Obey said LU’s coach Nicholas Nichol and the national track team coach James Davis approached him right after the race. They wanted him to join the national team.
An avid footballer, Obey turned them down. However, the coaches went above Obey to his father who made the final decision. Obey would no longer be a footballer but a sprinter. In Liberian tradition, heeding the direction of the elders is the only option.
Photo courtesy of Octavius Obey: (Coach Nicholas Nichol and Obey in the US, in 2021.)
An unexpected hardship
Never lacking confidence, Obey often boasted that he could run the fastest and even jump the farthest. One afternoon, after training with his new national teammates, Obey confidently told them he could surpass them in the long jump. Unfortunately, his second jump ended with him breaking his fifth metatarsal — one of the bones that connected his ankle to his toes — six weeks before the 1984 Games.
With a fractured foot, Obey said he sought every hospital for healing. Depending on the severity, this type of injury typically takes six weeks to several months to heal with proper rest and care — sometimes even a cast. He said each x-ray confirmed he would no longer be able to compete. After Obey left Monrovia to clear his head in Gbarnga he was presented with another option. Although skeptical, he was introduced to a young man named Dorbor who restored both Obey’s broken foot and hope for the Olympics.
With herbs and leaves, Obey shared that his foot began to heal within two days and the road to recovery was faster than he could have ever imagined.
“I believe there is an aspect of dealing with bones and healing that is highly developed in our culture that people in this part of the [Western] world are not aware of or don’t want to talk about,” Obey said.
At the 1984 Games
It sounds unbelievable, but Obey made it to the Olympics six weeks after breaking his foot. He ran third leg on the second Liberian 4×100 team to ever compete at the Games. Alongside Oliver Daniels, Augustus Moulton, and Hassan Tall, Liberia finished the race in 42.05 seconds and did not advance past the first round.
This was a trip of firsts for Obey. He explained it was his first time on a plane, first time to the States, first time seeing so many people from around the world and hearing that kind of stadium noise level. Obey shared his most memorable moment, entering the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, was an emotional privilege.
“I was just overjoyed to the point of tears. I was just so happy to be there,” Obey said.
Seeing other athletes’ top speed on the practice field had the confident Obey “shivering.” He also added that meeting US 400 meter icon and Olympic medalist Ed Moses, Kenyan long-distance sensation Kipchoge Keino, and highly decorated US Olympian Carl Lewis were also significant to his Olympic experience.
*GTL does not accept or agree with the commentary used in this YouTube clip, but we’ve included it for historical purposes.
Fate and tradition
After returning from the Olympics, Obey said he and Dorbor reconnected through the gifts he brought as a thank you. About a year later, Dorbor passed away. This is the first time Obey has publicly shared his miracle story, but attributes his Olympic journey to Dorbor. Obey said the young herbalist feared for his life because he wanted a different path from his own family, who insisted he practice herbal medicine. Obey and Dorbor both had parents that pushed them towards their lucky encounter.
Obey’s decision to listen to his father placed an opportunity of a lifetime within reach. Although Dorbor had other life desires too, his knowledge helped Obey to hold on to that opportunity.
Both men followed what was asked of them. The intersection of tradition and fate is unexplainable but an “ah-ha” moment nonetheless.
“I’m a living example that something is there,” Obey said.
Life after the Olympics
Obey remained in the track world for a few years with hopes of another Olympics, but eventually returned to his first love, football. He spent some time working in media with the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) before transitioning into business in the United States. Obey currently hosts a channel on YouTube about Liberian history.
To this day, Obey said he hasn’t experienced any complications from his healed foot.
Listen and read Obey’s Q&A below (lightly edited for clarity and brevity).
Hello my name is Octavius Obey and I competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Sanniquellie, Nimba County, Liberia. I grew up there. I went to elementary school in Saint Mary’s elementary, in Sanniquellie and then later it was called Stella Maris. From there, I went to Carroll high school. Then my parents moved to Paynesville in 1977. I grew up and spent some time in Paynesville as well.
What do you love about Liberia?
Oh, I love the fact that I was born there. I love the rich history. I love the fact that people from diverse backgrounds have converged in that little piece of the world. People from indigenous backgrounds as well as people from repatriate backgrounds. And the fact that there was a time of relative stability and even subsequently the conflict that we had make us who we are as Liberians.
When did you start running and how did you end up on the Liberia Olympic Team?
I started running as a kid, but it wasn’t anything serious. When I started to play high school soccer, we started to do some running and then of course I got to college at Cuttington.
I ran a little bit, but it was not until I think my sophomore and junior year that I started to run seriously. When I was born, I was one of those kids who walked on his toes as opposed to putting my feet flat down, and everybody made fun of me because of that, but when time came to run competitively that really came in handy.
We had an intercollegiate meet between the University of Liberia and Cuttington. I believe it was 1982 or 83. We were doing the 4×400 meters relay. I was the third leg and when I got the baton the guy from the University of Liberia was starting to curve. He was ending the curve at the start of the race and I was able to pass him and give the baton to Oliver Daniels who finished the race for Cuttington and we won the 4×400 meters relay.
The national team coach, James Davis, at the time, was there. He had come up to to watch the intercollegiate meet and asked me to join the team there and then.
What’s your favorite sports event and what do you miss most about being on the team?
My favorite track and field event is the 400 even though I ran the 100 because I believe the 400 is the right combination of speed and strength. In terms of general sports, I’m a soccer head. My dad coached football at Sanniquellie Central High School so our house was right across the street from the field and I grew up around the team. I always played a little bit at Carroll high school for my sophomore, junior, and senior years.
I got to Cuttington and played a little bit of mostly club, then in my junior year that’s when I really started to run seriously.
Photo credit: LASpirit Olympic Sports (Screenshot of Liberia at 1984 Opening Ceremony.)
What’s your favorite Olympic memory?
Certainly the Opening Ceremony. As captain of the team, I was honored to enter the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. I believe the estimate of the crowd that day was about 100,000 people. To lead the national team into the stadium was sort of emotional.
Two years of hard work there in the community of humanity. People from all over the world, including us, just being there among the human family. I think, for me, it was so moving and it was a privilege really.
What’s your #1 advice to an athlete who wants to become an Olympian?
I think consistency and hard work. Set short term and long term goals. If you become injured, don’t think it’s the end. You gotta get up. You gotta train. You gotta have a plan when you train and you gotta find someone who’s knowledgeable about the sport to help to train you. A mentor and a coach, preferably. I think those are the biggest things I can tell someone who wants to get into the sport.
What’s an interesting fact about you that not many people know?
I am an avid chess enthusiast. I played with the Monrovia chess club. I’m a member of the United States chess federation. I play here with the Charlotte chess club. Currently, my peak rating was about 1710, which is the higher end of amateurs. I’m not saying I’m good or anything, but my love for the game of chess obviously far exceeds my ability.
I coached my kids when they were coming up, in chess, and I still try to get out to the chess club most Wednesday evenings. If you can’t find me or if my phone is off, that’s what’s happening with me here at the Charlotte chess club.
What do you miss the most about competing and what’s life like after sports?
I think the transition was really hard because I ran track competitively for a relatively short period of time. Then subsequently, I played soccer until about maybe four years ago.
I was still playing in the amateur league here in Charlotte North Carolina. I miss the competition. I miss the fact that you can get up in the morning and work towards something. I’ve had time to sit down and look back at my life. I think that as you get up there in age your body begins to show some of the telltale signs of all those years of use and overuse from high level competition.
The joints are not as solid as they used to be, naturally, but I think that looking back, some of the lessons we learned are lessons of discipline, planning, execution, and how to overcome nervousness, how to suspend gratification through hard work and enjoy the day of competition. Then, once the competition is over, set new goals and apply those principles that we learned on the track and soccer to life as well.
Life has been good. I’ve had a career for a short while in broadcasting, in Liberia. I’ve had a career in business, in the United States. I’ve been able to raise a family; my proudest moment. I’ve been a husband to my wife and the kids for more than a few years now. So God has been good to us, life has been good.
Readers can stay in touch with Obey by following him on YouTube at @OctaviusObey. Supporters can also keep up with him on the Liberia Olympians social media pages – @liberiaolympians.
The Olympian Spotlight Series is a monthly project that features the journeys and lives of Liberia’s Olympians. Not only does the project highlight their lives as athletes, it expresses their views as Liberians and showcases life after professional sports. Its goal is to honor these athletes and encourage readers who may want to support or become an Olympian themselves.
Wallace Octavius Obey seems like the type of person who believes he can do anything. Even the things that don’t really interest him.
“Let’s just say, I was a little bit on the mouthy side,” Obey told Go Team Liberia in our Olympian of the Month interview. “When I was younger, I never lacked confidence.”
He was not a self-proclaimed sprinter, nor did he have the typical dream of attending the Olympics. Yet, he led Liberia into the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games as the flag bearer and team captain.
Obey’s Olympic journey began after he competed in a track meet between the University of Liberia (LU) and Cuttington University. He can’t remember if it was in 1982 or ‘83, but he remembers the race vividly. During his third year in college, he helped his Cuttington teammates close a 100 meter-lead and ultimately win the 4×400 meter relay. Obey said LU’s coach Nicholas Nichol and the national track team coach James Davis approached him right after the race. They wanted him to join the national team.
An avid footballer, Obey turned them down. However, the coaches went above Obey to his father who made the final decision. Obey would no longer be a footballer but a sprinter. In Liberian tradition, heeding the direction of the elders is the only option.
Photo courtesy of Octavius Obey: (Coach Nicholas Nichol and Obey in the US, in 2021.)
An unexpected hardship
Never lacking confidence, Obey often boasted that he could run the fastest and even jump the farthest. One afternoon, after training with his new national teammates, Obey confidently told them he could surpass them in the long jump. Unfortunately, his second jump ended with him breaking his fifth metatarsal — one of the bones that connected his ankle to his toes — six weeks before the 1984 Games.
With a fractured foot, Obey said he sought every hospital for healing. Depending on the severity, this type of injury typically takes six weeks to several months to heal with proper rest and care — sometimes even a cast. He said each x-ray confirmed he would no longer be able to compete. After Obey left Monrovia to clear his head in Gbarnga he was presented with another option. Although skeptical, he was introduced to a young man named Dorbor who restored both Obey’s broken foot and hope for the Olympics.
With herbs and leaves, Obey shared that his foot began to heal within two days and the road to recovery was faster than he could have ever imagined.
“I believe there is an aspect of dealing with bones and healing that is highly developed in our culture that people in this part of the [Western] world are not aware of or don’t want to talk about,” Obey said.
At the 1984 Games
It sounds unbelievable, but Obey made it to the Olympics six weeks after breaking his foot. He ran third leg on the second Liberian 4×100 team to ever compete at the Games. Alongside Oliver Daniels, Augustus Moulton, and Hassan Tall, Liberia finished the race in 42.05 seconds and did not advance past the first round.
This was a trip of firsts for Obey. He explained it was his first time on a plane, first time to the States, first time seeing so many people from around the world and hearing that kind of stadium noise level. Obey shared his most memorable moment, entering the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, was an emotional privilege.
“I was just overjoyed to the point of tears. I was just so happy to be there,” Obey said.
Seeing other athletes’ top speed on the practice field had the confident Obey “shivering.” He also added that meeting US 400 meter icon and Olympic medalist Ed Moses, Kenyan long-distance sensation Kipchoge Keino, and highly decorated US Olympian Carl Lewis were also significant to his Olympic experience.
*GTL does not accept or agree with the commentary shared in this YouTube clip, but we’ve included it for historical purposes.
Fate and tradition
After returning from the Olympics, Obey said he and Dorbor reconnected through the gifts he brought as a thank you. About a year later, Dorbor passed away. This is the first time Obey has publicly shared his miracle story, but attributes his Olympic journey to Dorbor. Obey said the young herbalist feared for his life because he wanted a different path from his own family, who insisted he practice herbal medicine. Obey and Dorbor both had parents that pushed them towards their lucky encounter.
Obey’s decision to listen to his father placed an opportunity of a lifetime within reach. Although Dorbor had other life desires too, his knowledge helped Obey to hold on to that opportunity.
Both men followed what was asked of them. The intersection of tradition and fate is unexplainable but an “ah-ha” moment nonetheless.
“I’m a living example that something is there,” Obey said.
Life after the Olympics
Obey remained in the track world for a few years with hopes of another Olympics, but eventually returned to his first love, football. He spent some time working in media with the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) before transitioning into business in the United States. Obey currently hosts a channel on YouTube about Liberian history.
To this day, Obey said he hasn’t experienced any complications from his healed foot.
Listen and read Obey’s Q&A below (lightly edited for clarity and brevity).
Hello my name is Octavius Obey and I competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Sanniquellie, Nimba County, Liberia. I grew up there. I went to elementary school in Saint Mary’s elementary, in Sanniquellie and then later it was called Stella Maris. From there, I went to Carroll high school. Then my parents moved to Paynesville in 1977. I grew up and spent some time in Paynesville as well.
What do you love about Liberia?
Oh, I love the fact that I was born there. I love the rich history. I love the fact that people from diverse backgrounds have converged in that little piece of the world. People from indigenous backgrounds as well as people from repatriate backgrounds. And the fact that there was a time of relative stability and even subsequently the conflict that we had make us who we are as Liberians.
When did you start running and how did you end up on the Liberia Olympic Team?
I started running as a kid, but it wasn’t anything serious. When I started to play high school soccer, we started to do some running and then of course I got to college at Cuttington.
I ran a little bit, but it was not until I think my sophomore and junior year that I started to run seriously. When I was born, I was one of those kids who walked on his toes as opposed to putting my feet flat down, and everybody made fun of me because of that, but when time came to run competitively that really came in handy.
We had an intercollegiate meet between the University of Liberia and Cuttington. I believe it was 1982 or 83. We were doing the 4×400 meters relay. I was the third leg and when I got the baton the guy from the University of Liberia was starting to curve. He was ending the curve at the start of the race and I was able to pass him and give the baton to Oliver Daniels who finished the race for Cuttington and we won the 4×400 meters relay.
The national team coach, James Davis, at the time, was there. He had come up to to watch the intercollegiate meet and asked me to join the team there and then.
What’s your favorite sports event and what do you miss most about being on the team?
My favorite track and field event is the 400 even though I ran the 100 because I believe the 400 is the right combination of speed and strength. In terms of general sports, I’m a soccer head. My dad coached football at Sanniquellie Central High School so our house was right across the street from the field and I grew up around the team. I always played a little bit at Carroll high school for my sophomore, junior, and senior years.
I got to Cuttington and played a little bit of mostly club, then in my junior year that’s when I really started to run seriously.
Photo credit: LASpirit Olympic Sports (Screenshot of Liberia at 1984 Opening Ceremony.)
What’s your favorite Olympic memory?
Certainly the Opening Ceremony. As captain of the team, I was honored to enter the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. I believe the estimate of the crowd that day was about 100,000 people. To lead the national team into the stadium was sort of emotional.
Two years of hard work there in the community of humanity. People from all over the world, including us, just being there among the human family. I think, for me, it was so moving and it was a privilege really.
What’s your #1 advice to an athlete who wants to become an Olympian?
I think consistency and hard work. Set short term and long term goals. If you become injured, don’t think it’s the end. You gotta get up. You gotta train. You gotta have a plan when you train and you gotta find someone who’s knowledgeable about the sport to help to train you. A mentor and a coach, preferably. I think those are the biggest things I can tell someone who wants to get into the sport.
What’s an interesting fact about you that not many people know?
I am an avid chess enthusiast. I played with the Monrovia chess club. I’m a member of the United States chess federation. I play here with the Charlotte chess club. Currently, my peak rating was about 1710, which is the higher end of amateurs. I’m not saying I’m good or anything, but my love for the game of chess obviously far exceeds my ability.
I coached my kids when they were coming up, in chess, and I still try to get out to the chess club most Wednesday evenings. If you can’t find me or if my phone is off, that’s what’s happening with me here at the Charlotte chess club.
What do you miss the most about competing and what’s life like after sports?
I think the transition was really hard because I ran track competitively for a relatively short period of time. Then subsequently, I played soccer until about maybe four years ago.
I was still playing in the amateur league here in Charlotte North Carolina. I miss the competition. I miss the fact that you can get up in the morning and work towards something. I’ve had time to sit down and look back at my life. I think that as you get up there in age your body begins to show some of the telltale signs of all those years of use and overuse from high level competition.
The joints are not as solid as they used to be, naturally, but I think that looking back, some of the lessons we learned are lessons of discipline, planning, execution, and how to overcome nervousness, how to suspend gratification through hard work and enjoy the day of competition. Then, once the competition is over, set new goals and apply those principles that we learned on the track and soccer to life as well.
Life has been good. I’ve had a career for a short while in broadcasting, in Liberia. I’ve had a career in business, in the United States. I’ve been able to raise a family; my proudest moment. I’ve been a husband to my wife and the kids for more than a few years now. So God has been good to us, life has been good.
Readers can stay in touch with Obey by following him on YouTube at @OctaviusObey. Supporters can also keep up with him on the Liberia Olympians social media pages – @liberiaolympians.
The Olympian Spotlight Series is a monthly project that features the journeys and lives of Liberia’s Olympians. Not only does the project highlight their lives as athletes, it expresses their views as Liberians and showcases life after professional sports. Its goal is to honor these athletes and encourage readers who may want to support or become an Olympian themselves.