Paralympic Games: Italy’s Petrillo is the first transgender Olympic athlete. Here’s her story

Valentina Petrillo is set to become the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games, having been selected to represent Italy in para-athletics in Paris.

The fifty-year-old sprinter Valentina Petrillo – who competes in the women’s T12 classification, reserved for athletes with visual impairments – transitioned from male to female in 2019.

Petrillo, who will run the 200m and 400m T12, told BBC Sport that his participation in the Games would be an “important symbol of inclusion.” The Paralympic Games run from August 28 to September 8.

Ma Mariuccia Quilleria lawyer and athlete who has represented some fellow athletes who oppose her compatriot’s participation in women’s competitions, said that inclusion has been prioritized over equity and “there’s not much else we can do.”

Last year, the 50-year-old won two bronze medals at the World Para-Athletics Championships.

“Welcome to Paris”, but sport and science “must clarify”

Andrew Parsonspresident of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), said that while the Italian is “welcome” to Paris under current global Paralympic athletics policies, he wants to see the world of sport “united” on transgender policies.

There is currently no unified position on transgender inclusion in sports.

The IPC allows international sports governing bodies to set their own policies. There are significant differences between the policies of World Athletics and World Para Athletics, for example.

World Athletics has banned transgender women from competing in the women’s category at international events. Its president, Lord Sebastian Coesaid the decision was made to “maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations.”

Under World Para Athletics rules, a person legally recognized as a woman may compete in the category for which her impairment qualifies her.

The regulation also states that “World Para Athletics will deal with all cases involving transgender athletes in accordance with the International Olympic Committee guidelines and any applicable World Para Athletics regulations.” Regulations that are constantly changing, given the sensitivity and interest of this phenomenon.

In an interview in Paris two weeks ago, Parson himself said he was comfortable with this position only for the moment: “I think the sports movement, guided by science, has to find better answers for these situations and for transgender athletes. We have to, based on science, give a better and probably unified answer to this segment of the population.”

Who is Valentina Petrillo?

Born in 1973, Petrillo grew up with the myth of Mennea and the dream of one day participating in the Olympics. A dream that was shattered at the age of 14, when she was diagnosed with Stargardt syndrome and became visually impaired.

But athletics was, and has remained, her anchor, a lifeline as she declared to «SkyTg»: «This discipline saved me from a difficult neighborhood in Naples and has allowed me today, also considering my condition, to be an independent and free person. This sport is my life, I like running, but above all I like running fast».

Then came the years of constant self-discovery, of one’s sexual identity. “A few years ago I finally managed to achieve something I wanted inside: I began gender transition in 2019.” Petrillo said she knew she was a woman since she was nine years old.

Between 2015 and 2018, Petrillo won 11 national titles in the T12 men’s category for athletes with visual impairments. With the support of his wife, he began living as a woman in 2018 and began hormone therapy in January 2019.

A journey that was certainly not painless, in which he lost many friends, “but I also met wonderful people.”

In 2018, she left the world of men’s athletics. “I could no longer continue to pretend to myself that I was someone I was not and finding the support of the Paralympic world was fundamental for me.”

“I’ve been waiting for this day for three years”

Asked about his reaction to being selected for the Paralympics, the bell-born athlete told BBC Sport: “I have been waiting for this day for three years and in these three years I have done everything possible to earn it. I deserve this selection and I want to thank the Italian Paralympic Federation and the Italian Paralympic Committee for always believing in me, especially as a person, as well as an athlete,” he said.

“Everyone will have their questions,” but only a “minority” will understand his story.

“I’m no longer the energetic person I used to be. I won 11 titles as a man, with hormones my performance has plummeted. I’m not looking for an easier life on the track. I’m not the same as before,” she told “La Repubblica” a few years ago.

Who doesn’t like the decision?

Again, the lawyer Quilleri, to the «BBC», declared that «each federation can choose between the concepts of inclusion and fairness in sports. World Athletics has decided to follow the principle of the Olympic spirit, that is, it has remained faithful to the idea of ​​fair competition. On the other hand, the Italian Paralympic Federation has chosen inclusion».

The lawyer, who as mentioned represents other athletes, is convinced that it will be up to the other visually impaired athletes “who will be beaten by Valentina Petrillo to have to protest with their federation”.

Irene Aguiara lawyer specializing in international sports law, interviewed by «Bild», instead stated: «Our Spanish athlete Melani Berges she lost the chance to qualify for the Paralympics. The reason is the participation of the man Fabrizio ‘Valentina’ Petrillo, who reached the final in her place. This is unfair.”

A topic that is far from being resolved, understood and shared. The fact remains that Valentina Petrillo is the first transgender athlete to participate in the Paralympics. A historic fact.