Valentina Petrillo is set to make history as the first openly transgender athlete in the Paralympic Games. The visually impaired sprinter will represent Italy in the women’s 200m and 400m races in Paris Paralympics. She won bronze medals in both events at the previous year’s World Para Athletics Championships in the same city. Before transitioning in 2019, Petrillo held eleven national titles in men’s competitions as well.
“I still can’t believe it,” Petrillo said, “and I’m staying grounded because I narrowly missed the Tokyo Games. I won’t focus on Paris until I arrive in France.”
About Valentina Petrillo
Born in Naples, Valentia was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at fourteen, and Petrillo has only 1/50th of normal vision. After finishing her studies in the country, She joined the National futsal team for the visually impaired. Just at the age of 41, she decided to pursue Athletics again, In 2019, she changed her gender and competed in the Italian Para Athletics Championships.
What does the rules say?
International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons welcomed Petrillo to the Paris Games under World Para Athletics rules but called for a unified approach to transgender policies in sports. Many sports governing bodies, including those for athletics, cycling, and swimming, have recently tightened eligibility rules for transgender athletes in women’s elite competitions.
However, the IPC allows individual sports to set their own policies, and World Para Athletics permits competition for legally recognized women.
Critics argue that the physical advantages gained from going through male puberty outweigh any effects of transitioning. Conversely, LGBT+ advocacy groups maintain that excluding trans athletes is discriminatory and lacks sufficient scientific evidence.
