“Running as a woman is all I want.” Valentina Petrillo’s dream is about to come true this Monday, September 2. The Italian sprinter is the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games. She will take to the track at the Stade de France this Monday for the first round of the 400 meters, category T12, before taking the start of the 200 meters on Friday, September 6.
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“I still can’t believe it and I’m keeping my feet on the ground because I just missed out on my chance to participate in Tokyo,” she told the Guardian shortly after her selection. Visually impaired, Valentina Petrillo began running at a young age but stopped after she was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease at the age of 14. This rare eye disease causes a progressive loss of vision.
The athlete, now 50, joined the Paralympic competition at 41. After devoting herself to blind football, she won two bronze medals, in the 200 and 400 metres, at the World Para-Athletics Championships in Paris in 2023. Back in the capital of France, Valentina Petrillo has ambitious goals again. “I want to improve my personal records, if I manage to do that, the medal might not be far away,” she assures AFP.
“I’m not afraid, I am me”
Three years after weightlifting…
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