“I often say, if I’ve done it, others can too. I hope to be the first of many, a reference point, an inspiration. My story can help many people, whether visually impaired, transgender, or not,” Valentina Petrillo told press agency AFP, as interest in her participation grows ahead of the opening ceremony on August 28.
Petrillo will compete in the 400m T12 event for visually impaired athletes. She publicly came out as transgender in 2017 having narrowly missed out on the 1996 Atalanta Paralympic team as a male, but was not recognised as a woman by Italian authorities until 2023. Petrillo, 50, won two bronze medals in the 200m and 400m events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Though Petrillo said she hopes to be “the first of many” transgender athletes competing at the Games, the (IPC) say she will not be the first transgender Paralympian, as has been widely reported. A spokesman for the organization told DW that Dutch discus thrower Ingrid van Kranen was the first, in Rio 2016.
Dutch discus thrower first trans Paralympian
Van Kranen came ninth in the discus final and made few waves internationally. In the intervening eight years, transgender issues have become a much more prominent point of discussion, often becoming a wedge issue in the culture wars. Sport is often at the forefront of this. The battle lines are well drawn but . For German para-athlete Katrin Müller-Rottgardt, who will run in the same category as Petrillo, the sporting stage poses difficulties that normal life does not.
“Everyone should live in everyday life the way they feel comfortable. ‘But I find it difficult in competitive sports,” she told German tabloid Bild.
“She (Petrillo) has lived and trained as a man for a long time, so there is a possibility that the physical requirements are different to those of someone who was born a woman. This could give her an advantage.”
The range of but there is , with even when dealing with the same athletes.
Khelif caught in the middle
This became crystal clear in the case of After her Italian opponent , her gender became one of the Games’ hot button topics. Khelif was incorrectly labelled transgender by media outlets and major public figures while Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting faced similar challenges and accusations. The pair were banned from the 2023 championship run by the International Boxing Association, who were subsequently stipped of their status as the sport’s global governing body, allowing them to fight in Paris.
The inconsistencies apparent between sports and events means that Petrillo would not be able to compete in the women’s athletics at the Olympics but can at the Paralympics. World Athletics banned transgender athletes from competing in 2023. But World Para Athletics say any person who is legally recognised as a woman is eligible to compete in the category their impairment qualifies them for. The IPC told DW that, for now at least, they leave such decisions up to the individual federations.
“The IPC in its role as a major event organiser does not have any relevant rules addressing transgender and intersex athlete participation, as this is the responsibility of each International Federation,” the spokesman said.
High profile names in legal case
There is no doubt that Petrillo is playing by the rules as they stand. But that is unlikely to prevent her being in the
“I know there will be people who don’t understand why I’m doing this, but I’m here, I’ve fought for years to get where I am, and I’m not afraid. This is who I am,” said the Italian.
But the abuse faced by athletes in such cases is serious. After returning home to Algeria, Khelif announced that she had reportedly against social media platform X, over alleged cyberbullying.
Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, told Variety that the complaint names X owner Elon Musk and Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Boudi added that he would also be considering any role played by former US President and current candidate, Donald Trump.
“Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution,” the lawyer said.
While the Paralympics does not enjoy the same global profile as the Olympics, the eyes of the world will likely be on Petrillo when she takes to the track on September 3.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
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