"All in the name of "inclusion" of this dude"-Fans react as transgender Paralympian Valentina Petrillo finishes third in T12 400m semi-finals in Paris

Italian transgender Paralympic athlete, Valentina Petrillo, advanced to the T-12 400m semi-finals and missed to secure a spot in the finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, her participation infuriated fans, rallying to support women who were stripped of participation for a 51-year-old parent of two.

Valentina Petrillo, the visually impaired parathlete who became the first transgender woman to compete at the Olympic level, won 11 Italian men's titles. In 2020, she made her debut as a transgender athlete at the Italian Para Athletics Championships at 47.

Petrillo made her Olympic debut in Paris and competed in the women's T-12 400m race. Her participation received backlash from global fans, who rallied against her inclusion in the women's sprinting category.

One fan noted that Valentina Petrillo had the potential to oust a deserving woman from participation, medals or even reaching the finals, calling her a 'dude'.

"To put it into perspective, this man has stopped a woman even competing at the Paralympics, will stop a woman advancing to the finals, and has the ability to stop a woman getting a medal...All in the name of “inclusion” of this dude," the fan said.

Another fan questioned Petrillo's physical disability and wondered if the 51-year-old was pretending that too.

"I’m wondering if he is actually disabled or does he get to pretend that too?" said the fan.

A fan pointed out the supposedly unjust treatment of women, who were being excluded from their own sporting categories.

"This is the outrage. When “inclusion” means the EXclusion of women from their own categories," the fan commented.

Here are some of the other reactions:

"Nothing will change while these people are in charge. Somehow, we must push them out," a fan wrote.

"He is a narcissistic cheater," a fan commented.

"Excellent picture chosen. Looks like he is putting on a wig and perfectly captures the cos playing of a woman," tweeted a fan.

Valentina Petrillo on failing to qualify for the finals - "I tried until the end, I couldn’t do it"

Petrillo clocked a personal best time of 57.58s in the women's T-12 400m race but finished third, thus failing to qualify for the finals. After the loss, the 51-year-old shared that the women competing alongside him were stronger, which naturally left him behind despite trying.

"I tried until the end, I couldn’t do it,” Petrillo said after the race. “I missed that last straight. I pushed harder than this morning and I tried. They are stronger than me." she said. (The New York Times)

Valentina Petrillo also hoped her son would be proud of her success.

“But I hope my son is proud of me. That’s important to me because I’m a trans dad, it’s not everyone’s dream dad," she added.

The Para-athlete's next event is the T-12 200m, which will get underway on Friday at Stade de France in Paris.