Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo, who was born in a man’s body, took to the track at the Stade de France on Monday to compete in the 400m in the T12 category for visually impaired athletes.
Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo on Monday became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, at the Paris 2024 events.
At 50, Petrillo fulfilled a childhood dream by taking to the track at the Stade de France to compete in the 400m in the T12 category for visually impaired athletes.
She finished second in her heat, in a time of 58.35 seconds, and qualified for the semi-finals which will take place in the afternoon.
Stargardt’s disease
In an interview with AFP, Petrillo recently explained that lining up in Paris would be “the most important moment of (his) sporting career”after narrowly missing out on the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.
The Italian has long suffered from Stargardt’s disease, a genetic condition of the retina that causes progressive vision loss.
However, not competing in Tokyo was less painful than failing to qualify for the 1996 Paralympics, some time before what she calls her «coming out» as a woman, carried out in 2017.
“When I was a man, I was not myself, she insistsI was always running with the handbrake on, I was not a happy person, not as happy as I am now, even though I am a few years older”.
A career start in blind football
Born in a man’s body, married, Petrillo began living his life as a woman seven years ago, before beginning his transition and becoming a woman in the eyes of the Italian administration in 2023.
After devoting herself to blind football, a five-a-side football for the visually impaired, and having represented Italy in the most important tournaments, Petrillo ended up returning to the 200m, “discovered thanks to the Pietro Mennea myth”former world record holder and 1980 Olympic champion, and the 400m.
Hormone treatment has allowed her to divide her testosterone level by four and thus comply, with a level of 5 nanomoles per litre of blood, with the regulations of the International Athletics Federation to be able to participate in women’s para-athletics events.
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