University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Marie-Therese Obst
March 26, 2021 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Georgia track and field senior Marie-Therese Obst has two sports that she dearly loves. Along with the javelin, in which she set the school record last weekend, Obst competed for many years in handball.
Born in Berlin, Germany, Obst moved to Oslo, Norway, when she was 8 years old. Oslo is one of the world's best and greenest cities, the capital of a Scandinavian country bordered on one side by seas, and Obst loves all it has to offer. Getting used to the food in the United States, particularly the South, took a little time.
At the Yellow Jacket Invitational last weekend, Obst's fifth attempt went 195 feet, winning the competition by more than 63 feet and besting the old school record of 183-11. It was also the top collegiate mark so far this year and 10th best in the world.
During a Quick Chat on Thursday, before she competes at the Florida State Relays on Friday, Obst talked about her start in the sport, Oslo, adjusting to Southern food, eating moose, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: How did you get started throwing the javelin?
Obst: I'm not sure if you're familiar with the team sport we have in Europe, handball, so I played that already when we moved to Norway when I was 8. I played handball and next to the handball indoor facility we had a track, and there were some older guys throwing the javelin. I had never seen the javelin before so I just walked over there and I asked the coach if I could just try it to see how it is.
Since that day, I was hooked. It was so much fun.
Frierson: What was it like moving from Berlin to Oslo? It's one thing to move cities within a country but it's something else when you're changing countries and having to learn Norwegian, too.
Obst: It was actually easier because when you're younger it's just easier to communicate between children when you don't know the language. There was a lot of, I would say, sign language at the beginning, but it was not as hard as one might believe. I think that was because I was very young and it was easy to find new friends.
Frierson: When you're competing on a windy day, do you factor in the wind on your throws the same way a golfer might use the wind and adjust for the wind on their shots?
Obst: Oh, yeah. Even today when we walked to the track here in Florida, there was a strong wind. I've already talked to my coach about what type of javelins I should use during the competition if the wind is as strong as it was today. You definitely need to know your javelins because the javelins are made of different materials.
I'm probably going to, tomorrow if there's a strong wind, go for the javelins that are made of steel. You have to think about that, but technical issues or something like that, I should not be worried about because I'm still going to throw the same way that I do besides maybe planting the javelin tip a little bit down during the throw.
Frierson: Oslo is on my list of places that I really want to visit but I haven't yet made it, so tell me about Oslo, tell me about home.
Obst: I would describe it as a lot of nature and that's also what I love about it. You can be in the middle of the city and 10 minutes later you're in the middle of the nature. I grew up with a lot of nature so I love that about Oslo, that to free my mind or to clear whatever's going on in my head, I can just take the subway or the bus and then I just travel to the outside of Oslo.
We also have water which is really nice, so what I usually do during the summer is I go to the different islands that we have outside of Oslo. I just take the ferry or a friend's boat, and then we go and jump from one island to the other.
Frierson: When you came to the U.S., especially to the South, the cuisine is quite a bit different from what you're getting in Oslo. What was that adjustment period like?
Obst: [Laughs] It was actually pretty hard in the beginning because when I came to the United States I had already been a vegetarian for a year. Especially here in the South, they eat a lot of meat, so I struggled with that in the beginning, and then I actually did not continue on my vegetarian way.
I like to make food so that makes the whole process a little bit easier. I try to not put as much sugar, fat or use that much processed food in my dinner and breakfasts. It was hard in the beginning, American food is often full of sugar and fat which is different for me. Especially in Norway, people are trying to be healthy and we have way more healthier options.
Norwegians take a lot of pride in serving food that comes from our farms — there's a lot of farming in Norway. I always enjoy being back home because the milk is better and the fish is more fresh, the food just tastes better because it's more fresh.
Frierson: What is your favorite Norwegian dish? Is there one dish that when you go home you have to have at least once?
Obst: I actually love to eat moose, so sometimes we make moose burgers [laughs]. I also love sushi, so I eat a lot of sushi when I'm back home.
Frierson: I've had elk and I've had kangaroo, actually, but I've never had moose.
Obst: It's almost the same as elk.
Frierson: Is there one Southern dish that you've come to really love?
Obst: I actually love a chicken biscuit. We have a restaurant called Mama's Boy ...
Frierson: I knew you were going to say Mama's Boy after you said chicken biscuit.
Obst: Yes, oh, my gosh, I love that place. We don't really have that type of stuff back home so I enjoy it every time I'm there.
Frierson: I've watched handball during the Olympics but it's not a sport I know well. Is it a really big sport in Norway?
Obst: Handball in Norway is probably right after soccer as one of the biggest sports, and we are always, both women and men, at world championships, European championships, we're always up there (near the top). Actually, the women just won, I think, the European championships.
I started with that when I moved to Norway, just basically to do a sport and make friends, and I fell in love with that sport. I think it's at the same level as track for me. I really love the team sport and you can be a little bit aggressive [laughs], which I kind of miss in track.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Obst: In 10 years I will be 35, and by then I would love to be an Olympic champion [laughs] and I would love to have traveled the world even more than I have right now. And I will have become comfortable and in love with myself and my life — just be generally happy.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
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Staff Writer
Georgia track and field senior Marie-Therese Obst has two sports that she dearly loves. Along with the javelin, in which she set the school record last weekend, Obst competed for many years in handball.
Born in Berlin, Germany, Obst moved to Oslo, Norway, when she was 8 years old. Oslo is one of the world's best and greenest cities, the capital of a Scandinavian country bordered on one side by seas, and Obst loves all it has to offer. Getting used to the food in the United States, particularly the South, took a little time.
At the Yellow Jacket Invitational last weekend, Obst's fifth attempt went 195 feet, winning the competition by more than 63 feet and besting the old school record of 183-11. It was also the top collegiate mark so far this year and 10th best in the world.
During a Quick Chat on Thursday, before she competes at the Florida State Relays on Friday, Obst talked about her start in the sport, Oslo, adjusting to Southern food, eating moose, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: How did you get started throwing the javelin?
Obst: I'm not sure if you're familiar with the team sport we have in Europe, handball, so I played that already when we moved to Norway when I was 8. I played handball and next to the handball indoor facility we had a track, and there were some older guys throwing the javelin. I had never seen the javelin before so I just walked over there and I asked the coach if I could just try it to see how it is.
Since that day, I was hooked. It was so much fun.
Frierson: What was it like moving from Berlin to Oslo? It's one thing to move cities within a country but it's something else when you're changing countries and having to learn Norwegian, too.
Obst: It was actually easier because when you're younger it's just easier to communicate between children when you don't know the language. There was a lot of, I would say, sign language at the beginning, but it was not as hard as one might believe. I think that was because I was very young and it was easy to find new friends.
Frierson: When you're competing on a windy day, do you factor in the wind on your throws the same way a golfer might use the wind and adjust for the wind on their shots?
Obst: Oh, yeah. Even today when we walked to the track here in Florida, there was a strong wind. I've already talked to my coach about what type of javelins I should use during the competition if the wind is as strong as it was today. You definitely need to know your javelins because the javelins are made of different materials.
I'm probably going to, tomorrow if there's a strong wind, go for the javelins that are made of steel. You have to think about that, but technical issues or something like that, I should not be worried about because I'm still going to throw the same way that I do besides maybe planting the javelin tip a little bit down during the throw.
Frierson: Oslo is on my list of places that I really want to visit but I haven't yet made it, so tell me about Oslo, tell me about home.
Obst: I would describe it as a lot of nature and that's also what I love about it. You can be in the middle of the city and 10 minutes later you're in the middle of the nature. I grew up with a lot of nature so I love that about Oslo, that to free my mind or to clear whatever's going on in my head, I can just take the subway or the bus and then I just travel to the outside of Oslo.
We also have water which is really nice, so what I usually do during the summer is I go to the different islands that we have outside of Oslo. I just take the ferry or a friend's boat, and then we go and jump from one island to the other.
Frierson: When you came to the U.S., especially to the South, the cuisine is quite a bit different from what you're getting in Oslo. What was that adjustment period like?
Obst: [Laughs] It was actually pretty hard in the beginning because when I came to the United States I had already been a vegetarian for a year. Especially here in the South, they eat a lot of meat, so I struggled with that in the beginning, and then I actually did not continue on my vegetarian way.
I like to make food so that makes the whole process a little bit easier. I try to not put as much sugar, fat or use that much processed food in my dinner and breakfasts. It was hard in the beginning, American food is often full of sugar and fat which is different for me. Especially in Norway, people are trying to be healthy and we have way more healthier options.
Norwegians take a lot of pride in serving food that comes from our farms — there's a lot of farming in Norway. I always enjoy being back home because the milk is better and the fish is more fresh, the food just tastes better because it's more fresh.
Frierson: What is your favorite Norwegian dish? Is there one dish that when you go home you have to have at least once?
Obst: I actually love to eat moose, so sometimes we make moose burgers [laughs]. I also love sushi, so I eat a lot of sushi when I'm back home.
Frierson: I've had elk and I've had kangaroo, actually, but I've never had moose.
Obst: It's almost the same as elk.
Frierson: Is there one Southern dish that you've come to really love?
Obst: I actually love a chicken biscuit. We have a restaurant called Mama's Boy ...
Frierson: I knew you were going to say Mama's Boy after you said chicken biscuit.
Obst: Yes, oh, my gosh, I love that place. We don't really have that type of stuff back home so I enjoy it every time I'm there.
Frierson: I've watched handball during the Olympics but it's not a sport I know well. Is it a really big sport in Norway?
Obst: Handball in Norway is probably right after soccer as one of the biggest sports, and we are always, both women and men, at world championships, European championships, we're always up there (near the top). Actually, the women just won, I think, the European championships.
I started with that when I moved to Norway, just basically to do a sport and make friends, and I fell in love with that sport. I think it's at the same level as track for me. I really love the team sport and you can be a little bit aggressive [laughs], which I kind of miss in track.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Obst: In 10 years I will be 35, and by then I would love to be an Olympic champion [laughs] and I would love to have traveled the world even more than I have right now. And I will have become comfortable and in love with myself and my life — just be generally happy.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
Javelin
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