Transgender parent-of-two Valentina Petrillo, 50, qualifies for Paralympics 2024 women’s 400m semi-final

AN ITALIAN runner who was born male has become the second transgender athlete to compete in the 64-year history of the Paralympics.

Valentina Petrillo, 50, has a visual impairment and competed in the heats of the women’s T12 400m class on day five of the Paris Games.

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Petrillo, who does not require a guide, qualified for tonight’s semi-finals at the Stade de France with a time of 58.35 seconds as she finished behind Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez of Venezuela in heat four but ahead of China’s Shen Yaqin.

Without requiring the use of a guide runner, parent-of-two Petrillo qualified sixth overall and will be in contention for the podium spots at the Paras.

She said: Petrillo said: “The atmosphere in the stadium is great, it’s just a dream come true. We are here finally, it’s September 2, 2024, let’s sign this historical date (in our diary).

“From today I don’t want to hear anything more about discrimination, prejudices against transgender people.

“There are lots of people dying only for being trans, people are killed because they are trans, people commit suicide because they are trans and lose their jobs, or (they are) are not included in sport.

“But I made it. If I can make it, everyone can make it. I thought about Paris from the day I knew I was not making it to Tokyo. I am here now. Finally, I made it.”

In 2017, the disabled star shocked her wife, the mother of their two children, when she revealed she wanted to become a transgender woman – and within two years, she was undergoing hormone therapy.

Running as a male, Petrillo won 11 Italian para-athletics titles but has started to win medals on the international stage since switching to female-only events.

In March 2023, World Athletics – the governing body of able-bodied track-and-field – took a firm stance on this controversial topic.

Officials decided to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes who had gone through male puberty from competing in international events for women.

Seb Coe, the president of the governing body, said “decisive action” was taken “to protect the female category in our sport”.

While some might feel that Petrillo has a considerable physical advantage, despite being in her sixth decade on the planet, the International Paralympic Committee refused to implement any ban, saying they do not have any “framework” of rules.

Channel 4's Paralympics Line-Up

Channel 4 have a star-studded line-up of hosts and pundits for their coverage of the 2024 Paralympics

The presenting team is headed up by former Paralympian turned TV host Ade Adepitan .

Five-time Paralympic swimming champion Ellie Simmonds is making her debut with the broadcaster, alongside actress, producer and former Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis .

Veteran sports broadcaster Clare Balding also appears on-screen, as does racing-driver-turned-commentator Billy Monger and Invictus Games medallist and presenter JJ Chalmers .

The line-up also includes adventurer and former rugby union player Ed Jackson , TV and radio presenter Vick Hope , comedian Josh Pugh and sports presenter Lee McKenzie .

There’s also an experienced team who are there to commentate, including in the athletics , the wheelchair rugby and the equestrian events .

Further expert analysis comes courtesy of multi-Paralympic medallist Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson and Paralympic gold-medal sprinter Libby Clegg .

A IPC spokesperson said: “We have had one previous transgender athlete at the Paralympic Games.

“This was a Rio 2016 Paralympian who represented the Netherlands.

“Our framework is very clear. The IPC have no specific rules on transgender.

“It’s the responsibility of the international federations, which is a very similar approach to the IOC (International Olympic Committee).”

Not everybody is convinced and some want a suspension to come into force.

Germany’s Katrin Mueller-Rottgardt, who competes in the women’s long jump, said: “Basically, everyone should live in everyday life the way they feel comfortable, but I find it difficult in competitive sports.

“Petrillo has lived and trained as a man for a long time, so there is a possibility that the physical requirements are different to those of someone who was born as a woman.

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“This could give an advantage.”

Petrillo said: “I’m happy as a woman and running as a woman is all I want. I couldn’t ask for more.

“I dream of a future where no one has to hear stories like mine anymore.

“For 44 years I had no tools, I thought I was the only one in the world experiencing this situation.

“I was born in Naples in the Seventies, where the ‘femminielli’ were considered the ‘scum’ of society.

“I had an older relative who declared that she was trans and she was kicked out of the house by her father. I was scared and hid.

“I dream of a future in which there are no longer children, girls, teenagers , forced to hide, to be afraid, to not be able to express themselves for who they are: in the family, in society, in everyday activities.”