Trans controversy explodes at Paris Paralympics, JK Rowling calls Valentina Petrillo a cheat, 'What a role model'

Transgender sprinter Valentina Petrillo broke into tears after failing to make a first Paralympic final amid widespread controversy around her participation. Petrillo previously competed as a male, but later qualified for the women's T12 400m semi-finals.

Petrillo found herself in the midst of a massive controversy after Imane Khelif of Algeria faced scrutiny over her sex at the Paris Olympics 2024. Among many who condemned Petrillo is Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who called her a “cheat.”

“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,” Rowling wrote on X.

Petrillo became the first transgender athlete to participate in the Paralympic Games. The visually impaired Italian sprinter participated in the women’s T12 400 metres race and qualified for the semi-final, but failed to reach the final of the event. Petrillo, 50, finished behind Iran’s Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani and Venezuela’s Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez, in the second semifinal.

Her involvement in the Paralympics has led to widespread outrage, with many saying it is unfair to other female athletes. Petrillo was blasted by Sharron Davies of Great Britain, who won silver in swimming in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. “So we ban Lance Armstrong for taking drugs which will give him a small but important advantage over his male rivals because it’s cheating but we let 51 year old male Valentina Petrillo have a huge advantage with no issue at all against female athletes! Why is this being allowed?” Davies wrote.

Who is Valentina Petrillo?

At the age of 14, Petrillo was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, which causes a progressive loss of vision. While she initially stopped running as a result of the disease, she dreamed of competing again after Italian athlete Pietro Mennea’s 200-metre gold-medal performance in the 1980 Olympics.

Petrillo began her transition in 2019. However, she has been competing in para-sport since she was 41 years old. She won bronze medals in the 200 and 400 world championship races in 2023.

After failing to reach the women’s T12 400m final, Petrillo said she hoped her son will be proud of his “trans dad.” “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.

“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,” Petrillo added.

Petrillo has continued to dismiss critical voices. She said in the past, “We are here finally. It’s a dream come true. It’s 2 September 2024, let’s sign this historical date in our diary. 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,” Petrillo further said. “People are killed because they are trans, people commit suicide because they are trans. Or they lose their jobs, or they are not included in sport. But I made it. If I make it, everyone can make it.”

Transgender athletes are allowed by the World Para Athletics association to compete in women’s events under rule 4.5. The rule states that any person who is legally recognised as a woman can compete in female categories. This policy is different from the World Athletics’ regulations, which have separate criteria for transgender athletes.

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