Valentina Petrillo, a 50-year-old transgender athlete competing at the Paris Paralympics, has said she is “a trans dad, not everyone’s dream dad but hopes he (her son) will be proud of (her)”.
Petrillo, who was assigned as male at birth, did not qualify for the 400m T12 final after finishing third in her heat, despite running a personal best of 57.58 seconds on Monday evening.
“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. There is nothing I can do. I had to do 56 (seconds) to get into the final. It’s impossible, 57.58 I have to be happy even though I’m a little upset.
“But I hope my son is proud of me,” Petrillo began to cry. “That’s important to me because I’m a trans dad, it’s not everyone’s dream dad. But I hope he will be proud of me.
“I hope he will always stand by me, I hope that he loves me even if I am like this. I can’t help it if I’m like this, I’m sorry. Don’t treat trans people badly. We suffer. It’s not fair. We don’t hurt anybody.
“It’s all so beautiful (at the Paralympics). Afterwards how will it be out there? It’s not beautiful like this. It’s not all purple (her favourite colour) out there.”
Petrillo qualified sixth fastest for the semi-finals earlier on Monday and added: “The atmosphere inside the stadium is just fantastic so for me it’s a dream come true.
“It’s September 2, 2024 right? Let’s mark this down as a historic day. From this day forth I don’t want to hear any more talk about discrimination or prejudice for trans people.
“There are so many people who die for the mere fact of being trans people, who kill themselves for the mere fact of being trans because they lose their job because the sport doesn’t include them and 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.”
Petrillo started running as a child but stopped when she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition, at the age of 14.
Her vision is limited to one fiftieth of the normal range and she began para athletics aged 41, competing in male categories. Petrillo won 11 national titles in the male T12 visual impairment class between 2015 and 2018.
Supported by her wife, Petrillo started living as a woman in 2018 and received hormone therapy, including testosterone suppression, in January 2019.
After transitioning, she ran her first official race as a female para-athlete in 2020, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m T12 events at the Italian Paralympics Championship. At last year’s World Para Athletics Championships, she won two bronzes and has also competed against non-disabled women.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) says it “welcomes” Petrillo, while World Para Athletics (WPA) rules state a person who is legally recognised as a woman is eligible to compete in female categories.
However, Katrin Mueller-Rottgardt, a German Paralympian racing in Petrillo’s 200m T12 category on Friday, has spoken out about Petrillo’s advantage having gone through male puberty.
Petrillo will return to the track on Friday in the 200m T12 event.
(Mauro Ujetto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)