Valentina Petrillo, a transgender athlete, secured the third-place position in the women’s 400-meter race at the World Para Athletics Championships held in Paris Thursday. Petrillo’s “remarkable achievement” marks his ninth medal in women’s events.
With a finishing time of 58.24 seconds, Petrillo trailed behind the gold medalist Omara Durand of Cuba, who completed the race in 52.82 seconds, and the silver medalist Alejandra Perez Lopez of Venezuela, who clocked in at 57.88 seconds.
Petrillo, 49, competed in the visually impaired category after being diagnosed with Stargardt disease at the age of 14, which led to a loss of sight. The disease had temporarily halted Petrillo’s athletic aspirations until the age of 41 when, identifying as male, made a triumphant return to the sport, securing 11 national titles in men’s categories.
In an interview with the BBC in 2021, Petrillo candidly discussed his journey of transitioning, revealing that he first confided in his family about his decision in 2017.
Subsequently, Petrillo underwent hormone therapy in 2019, complying with the regulations set forth by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Athletics.
When questioned about his participation, Petrillo expressed his commitment to following the rules: “I respect and comply with the IOC and World Athletics rules, I do the tests. I don’t feel like I’m stealing anything from anyone.”
Petrillo made history in 2021 as the first transgender athlete to compete in the international Paralympic Women’s Championship. He currently holds the Italian records for the 200-meter T12 (27.17) and the indoor 400-meter T13 (59.77), both achieved within the visually impaired athletes’ category.
It is worth noting that Petrillo’s finishing time in the race would have placed him 14th in the men’s division, according to OutKick.
Reports from the BBC indicate that Petrillo experienced an approximate loss of 11 seconds in the 400-meter race and 2.5 seconds in the 200-meter race following the commencement of his transitioning process.
Petrillo’s perspective on his journey is resolute: “Better to be a slow happy woman than a fast unhappy man,” she stated.
Nevertheless, at the time of the report, 30 athletes signed a petition suggesting that Petrillo should not compete for titles against biological women.
Fausta Quilleri, a lawyer and runner in the over-35s “Master” category from Brescia, expressed her sentiments, saying, “If she wants to run with us, we would be happy for her to do so. We will always welcome her, but we don’t want her to compete with us for titles.”
Although the World Para Athletics Championships currently permit transgender athletes to participate in women’s categories, World Athletics has implemented a ban on them competing in women’s sports at the upcoming Summer 2024 Paris Olympics, citing the aim to “protect the female category.”
At what point will the world wake up and recognize that there is a real physical difference between men and women and however one “identifies” that truth does not change?
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