“Man steals woman’s medal,” “females pay the price” - Trans athlete Valentina Petrillo's bronze win at women’s 400m event gets slammed by internet

Transwoman athlete Valentina Petrillo made headlines for winning the 400m race at the women’s Para Athletics World Championship. Although the achievement is a proud moment for the athlete, her win has sparked a raging debate in the sports world.

Netizens have been divided into two camps, opposing and defending the participation of biologically male athletes in a woman’s event.

Petrillo, a visually impaired sprinter, is a performer in the 100m, 200m, and 400m events. The Naples-born runner was 14 when he lost his sight and was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, an inherited single-gene retinal disease.

Petrillo was 41, when he got back to athletics, winning 11 national titles in the men's category. In 2019, he decided to change his gender and become a trans-woman. She made her debut as a trans-woman at the Italian Para Athletics Championships in 2020.

On Thursday, Valentina Petrillo stunned the athletics world by clinching the third position at the Women’s 400m race. The Italian athlete achieved his feat within a time record of 58.24 seconds.

However, his bronze medal win left the internet world divided. Many netizens protested against the practice of letting a biologically male athlete participate in a women’s event. They felt it was unfair to female athlete Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi, who came fourth in the race but could have been in Petrillo’s place.

Here’s a look at the debate that got sparked on social media. Many jumped to Twitter to say that the event was unfair to other female athletes:

"I’m sorry but this is cheating fair and square."

"Sick beyond belief that anyone can see this as anything other than plain wrong."

"Call a spade a spade, call a bloke a bloke, call a cheat a cheat."

Some pointed out that the stakeholders of the athletics world should have taken the responsibility for the events.

"Exactly. It’s been nearly 3 months since @WorldAthletics protected the female category for only those who have not gone through male puberty . How can @ParaAthletics and Italian Athletics think this is still acceptable?"

"Our gullible sporting leaders have been sold a lie. I don’t reckon they believe it - they are just too gutless to stand up against the religious zealots that push it - meanwhile females pay the price."

Someone suggested a solution to the problem:

There should now be 3 groups . MEN - WOMAN & TRANS. Trans can compete against their own.

However, there were some users that came in support of the Italian athlete:

"Women just need to TRAIN HARDER and stop being such bad losers! Sometimes, it takes a real elderly sportswoman to show them young ladies how it's done. Even the visually impaired ones, like in this instance."

Others continued making allegations against Valentina Petrillo:

"Man steals woman’s medal"

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Paralympics coach denounces Valentina Petrillo's participation

Former Paralympic head coach, Peter Eriksson also spoke on the burning topic, criticizing Valentina Petrillo's participation at the women's event. In a conversation with Reduxx, he expressed his views on the matter.

“It’s shocking to see that women’s opportunities to a medal were taken by a cheating 49-year-old male,” he said.

He also added that the International Paralympic Committee was diminishing the fairness in women’s sport by permitting transgender athletes to participate at their events. In his opinion, the IPC should have also adopted the rules and regulations of World Athletics on transgender and DSD participation.