‘Sport has sustained me throughout my life’

Wielly shows a picture of himself as a boy swissinfo.ch

“I was born in Fribourg in 1954 into great poverty. Along with my two brothers, I was handed over to the authorities when I was three. There I suffered malnutrition, corporal punishment and sexual abuse, but also lack of affection." 

“Next to the orphanage, there was a military base. One day, I was alone in the courtyard and an officer in his smart uniform spoke to me. The next day he brought me a toy and I asked him: “Don’t you want to be my dad?”. He explained that it wasn’t as simple as that.”

“When I was 14, I was placed with a family in the country. I was made to work hard and would fall asleep at school. In three years, I earned 15 francs. I returned to an institution and passed a tinsmith certificate but after four years I had to stop this sort of work because of physical problems. It has been sport that has sustained me throughout my life. Through hard work, I became a sports teacher.

“Once I was able to get access to the archives, I learned that my mother had not left, as I had been told, but that, abandoned by my father who was a vagabond, she was unable to feed us. She asked for help, but no, the authorities separated us. I also found out I had a 66-year-old sister living in Aarau. I met her, what a moment!”