A blind runner who won 11 national titles as a man will compete as a woman in the Paralympics. This has to stop

Valentina Petrillo is visually impaired, but anyone can see this fact clearly.

The Italian sprinter — who, later this month, will become the first openly trans athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games —  is a strapping biological man and should not be racing against women on a world stage.

And yet: Different games, same old story. Man identifies as woman and the doors of female spaces magically swing open for them. Truth be damned.

Before transitioning in 2019, Petrillo won a whopping 11 national titles in visually-impaired categories as a man. Last summer, the runner took bronze in both the women’s 200 and 400 meters at the Para Athletics World Championships.

Petrillo, 50, told BBC Sport that competing in the games, which kick off on August 28 in Paris, would be an  “important symbol of inclusion.”

And lunacy. Why, oh why, do we continue to cede basic fairness to this convoluted notion of inclusion — especially when it comes to women’s sports, where the once level playing field has been trounced by trans athletes with a biological advantage.

50-year-old Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo to be first transgender Paralympian

It’s happened in virtually every sport, including cycling , swimming and weight lifting, to name a few.

Technically, Petrillo competing in the women’s category is not against the rules, but it screams injustice. The International Paralympic Committee allows each sport’s governing body to set their rules. And World Para Athletics, which is the international federation for track and field sports, says that an individual legally recognized as a woman can compete in the women’s category.

Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), has said that he is “prepared for the criticism” for allowing Petrillo to run against women in Paris.

“But again we need to respect our rules, we cannot disrespect our rules. So sometimes as an individual I think one way or another, but we need to follow our constitution, we need to follow our own rules and in the specific sports the rules of the international federations need to be respected,” Parsons said, adding that Petrillo will be “welcome as any other athlete.”

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If Petrillo were like any other athlete, no one would care.

In fact, people would be cheering on the Italian — who was diagnosed at 14 with Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition, and still went on to excel in sports. Any athlete able to overcome a physical disability and compete at this level should be lauded.

But Petrillo, who was born Fabrizio and went through male puberty, is essentially running with a physical advantage that some might call cheating.

“I deserve the selection,” Petrillo boldly told the BBC, adding: “This is not a lifestyle choice for me, this is who I am.

“And the way I am, like all transgender people who do not feel they belong to their biological gender, should not be discriminated against in the same way that race, religion or political ideology should not be discriminated against.”

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Sure, but your feelings do not trump biological truths. And maybe this should lead to a third, open category.

Even Parsons acknowledged that this controversy is likely not settled.

“I do think that the sport movement has to, guided by science, come up with better answers for these situations and for transgender athletes,” he said. “We need to, based on science, have a better and probably a united answer to this population.”

But science has already provided us an answer. We know men are, on average, faster and stronger than females.

The Paralympics are beautiful and important — a showcase of the human spirit and resilience over circumstances.

And these elite, hard-working athletes, who sacrifice and train just as hard as top-notch able-bodied athletes, are just as deserving of fairness.

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