Who is Valentina Petrillo? All you need to know about Italy's first transgender athlete at Paralympic Games

Italian para-athlete Valentina Petrillo is all set to become the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympics. The visually impaired sprinter will represent Italy in the women’s 200m and 400m races in Paris.

Petrillo, who was born in Napoli, Italy in 1973, took up athletics at a very young age. However, Petrillo suffered a loss of sight at the age of 14 after being diagnosed with Stargardt disease, limiting the visibility to 1/50th of the normal range.

After completing studies, Petrillo joined the futsal national team for the visually impaired. However, at 41, Petrillo got back into athletics, taking racing as her pet sport.

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Valentina Petrillo started the gender transitioning process in 2019

Valentina Petrillo started the gender transitioning process in 2019 and competed for the first time in the women's category at the Italian Para Athletics Championships on September 11, 2020. It was the first time in paralympic sports, a transgender athlete was allowed to compete.

Before her gender transition, Petrillo won 11 national titles in the men’s category. Later, Petrillo represented Italy at the World Para Athletics European Championships in 2021, settling for the fifth rank.

She holds the national records for 200m in 27.17 seconds and 400m in 59.77 seconds, created in 2021. In the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris in 2023, Petrillo won bronze medals in 200m and 400m races.

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What do the World Para Athletics guidelines state?

Ahead of the Paris Paralympics 2024, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons told BBC Sport that while Petrillo will be welcomed in Paris under World Para Athletics regulations, he hopes to see greater unity in the sporting world regarding transgender policies.

It’s worth noting that under World Para Athletics guidelines, any athlete legally recognized as a woman is eligible to compete. However, World Athletics’ policies differ, as they ban transgender women from competing.

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Petrillo's life story to be narrated via a movie

Valentina Petrillo’s life story will be narrated through a movie, currently in the development stage, named 5 nanomoli-Il sogno olimpico di una donna trans. It will be directed by Marco Mensa and Elisa Mereghetti.