Paris: Valentina Petrillo is poised to become the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games after being selected to represent Italy in the women’s 200 and 400 meters races at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
The 50-year-old sprinter, who transitioned in 2019, has already made her mark on the international stage, securing bronze medals in both events at last year’s World Para Athletics Championships in Paris. Before her transition, Petrillo won 11 national titles in the men’s category.
“I still find it hard to believe it, and I’m keeping my feet on the ground because my chance to participate in Tokyo was missed by a whisker,” Petrillo stated on Monday. “I will only start thinking about the Paris Games once I arrive in France.”
Petrillo’s journey has been shaped by her battle with Stargardt’s syndrome, a condition diagnosed when she was just 14 years old. This genetic disorder has severely limited her visual abilities, reducing them to just 1/50th of the normal range.
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Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), affirmed that Petrillo is welcome in Paris under World Para Athletics policies, but also expressed a desire for the global sporting community to “unite” on transgender policies.
In recent years, many sports governing bodies, including those overseeing athletics, cycling, and swimming, have tightened participation rules for transgender athletes in elite women’s competitions. However, the IPC allows individual governing bodies to set their own policies, and World Para Athletics permits individuals legally recognized as women to compete in the category for which their impairment qualifies them.
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The inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports remains a contentious issue. Critics argue that undergoing male puberty provides athletes with a significant musculo-skeletal advantage that is not fully mitigated by transition. On the other hand, LGBT advocacy groups maintain that excluding transgender athletes constitutes discrimination and stress that more research is needed to understand the impact of transition on athletic performance.
The 2024 Paris Paralympics are scheduled to run from August 28 to September 8.
