Valentina Petrillo will become the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympics after the visually impaired sprinter was selected to represent Italy in the women’s 200m and 400m races in Paris.
The 50-year-old, who transitioned in 2019, won bronze medals in both events at last year’s World Para Athletics Championships in Paris. Before making the transition, Petrillo won 11 national titles in the men’s category.
“I still find it hard to believe and I keep my feet on the ground because I narrowly missed my chance to compete in Tokyo,” Petrillo said in a statement on Monday.
“I will only start thinking about the Paris Games when I get to France.”
Petrillo was diagnosed with Stargardt syndrome at age 14 and his visual abilities are limited to 1/50 of the normal range.
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons told BBC Sport that while Petrillo is welcome in Paris Under World Para Athletics’ policies, it wants to see the sporting world “united” in its transgender policies.
He governing bodies Many sports, including athletics, cycling and swimming, have tightened their participation rules for transgender athletes in elite female competitions in recent years.
However, the IPC allows governing bodies to set their own policies and World Para Athletics allows a person legally recognised as a woman to compete in the category for which her disability qualifies her.
Critics of transgender inclusion In women’s sport, they claim that going through male puberty gives female athletes a huge musculoskeletal advantage that transitioning does not mitigate.
LGBT rights advocacy groups They say excluding trans athletes amounts to discrimination and that there has not been enough research into the impact of transition on athletic performance.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be held from 28 August to 8 September.
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