‘Hope my son’s proud’: trans runner fails to make 400m final
Italian runner Valentina Petrillo, a biological male who identifies as a woman, came third in the women’s T12 400m semifinal, as JK Rowling slams the ‘cheat’.
The Italian transgender runner Valentina Petrillo has failed to make the final of the visually impaired women’s T12 400m, finishing third in the semi-final.
Petrillo was then emotional when talking to the press after the race, hours after feminist and author JK Rowling had posted on social media: “Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo? The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility! Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over. What a role model! I say we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on. #Cheats #NoShame”
Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo? The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility! Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over. What a role model! I say we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on. #Cheats#NoShamepic.twitter.com/bvqhs3DexI
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 2, 2024
Petrillo, wearing dangling earrings and purple nail polish for the race said: “I’m a little down, but I hope my son will be proud of me.
“This is important to me because he has a trans dad, not the dad that everyone dreams of. But I hope he will be proud of me.”
Middle-aged Petrillo, who is 51 and a generation older than race opponents, said the other runners had been “stronger than me”.
“I tried my best until the end, I didn’t make it, I missed the last straight,” Petrillo said.
“I pushed more than I did this morning and I tried my best. They are stronger than me, I had to go down too much, to do a 56 [seconds]. With 57.50, I have to be happy even if I’m a little down.”
Petrillo has stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition, and unlike many others in the same category, doesn’t run with a guide.
Petrillo began to identify as a woman several years ago sparking fierce debate about the appropriateness of having a biological male who had gone through puberty being allowed, under World Para Athletics rules, to compete against females. As a man until the age of 45, Petrillo had won 11 Italian Paralympic titles and in the four years of competing in the women's category has won 27 titles.
Petrillo had claimed that competing in the Paralympics was the “realisation of history”, but didn’t refer to the females that have been bumped from Paralympic representation, or who had missed the chance to run in the Paralympic semi-final.
Lorraine Gomes de Alguiar, 27, had her left eye removed as a child because of cancer and has twice has missed making a major final, being beaten by Petrillo at the Paralympics and the world championships.
“Let’s mark this down as a historic day,” Petrillo said.
“ From this day forth I don’t want to hear any more talk about discrimination or prejudice for trans people. Now I’ve made it, so we can all make it if I’ve made it. I’ve done my little bit and we can all make it.”
‘You can see I’m a man’
Petrillo, a man until two years ago, just months ago told a documentary: “You can see I’m a man.”
Petrillo acknowledged women in the race would feel confusion and doubt.
Petrillo dwarfed the other two runners in the first round heat, Alejandra Perez of Venezuela and China’s Yaqin Shen, finishing second in 58.35s to qualify for the semi-finals. Two female spectators behind the photographer bay yelled in Portuguese: “The race is a disgrace.”
Under the International Paralympic Committee, which rubberstamps the World Para Athletics Championships rules, Petrillo, father of two children including a nine-year-old boy who was in the Stade de France crowd, has been lauded by some as some sort of heroine.
Petrillo said after the race: “The atmosphere in the stadium is great, it’s just a dream come true. We are here finally, it’s 2 September 2024 – let’s sign this historical date. From today I don’t want to hear anything more about discrimination, prejudices against transgender people.
“There are lots of people dying only for being trans, people are killed because they are trans, people commit suicide because they are trans and lose their jobs, or are not included in sport. But I made it. If I can make it, everyone can make it.”
The World Para Athletics body – like its cousin, the International Olympic Committee – believes biological men, well beyond puberty and in this case into middle age, can legitimately compete against women, as long as they can get their testosterone levels below 10 nanomoles per litre. The upper level of a biological woman is 2.4, with most well below 1.7. Competitors don’t have to have had any surgery, only “identify” as a woman.
The IPC said: “Transgender athletes wishing to compete in the female category in WPA competitions are required to declare that their gender identity for sporting purposes is female, and to provide evidence that their total testosterone level in serum has been below 10 nanomoles per litre for at least 12 months.”
Petrillo, 51, has labelled critics “on the same level as Hitler”.
If the World Para Athletics had followed the same rules as World Athletics, Petrillo would be watching Games from the sidelines. Instead, Italy’s blind runners have lost a chance to shine in Paris because officials have prioritised “happiness” above fairness.
As a man, Petrillo failed to make a dent in male para-sports, with a personal best of 58.01s but in the women’s category the former computer scientist has won 11 Italian titles, including six Italian Paralympic records, and eight masters titles.
As a man Petrillo failed to make a dent in male para-sports, with a personal best of 58.01s but in the women’s category the former computer scientist has won 11 Italian titles, including six Italian Paralympic records, and eight masters titles. Petrillo claimed, with a straight face, that competing in the Paralympics has been “a dream that I had since I was a little girl”.
Petrillo’s rivals are astonished that officials have allowed this scenario to descend to such a point without considering their views.
German long jumper Katrin Mueller-Rottgardt said: “Basically, everyone should live in everyday life the way they feel comfortable, but I find it difficult in competitive sports. 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 as a woman. This could give an advantage.”
Italian politicians and officials have received petitions calling for a tightening of the athletics rules.
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