'When I was a man, I wasn't myself': 50-year-old Italian woman becomes first transgender athlete to compete in Paralympics

Valentina Petrillo marque l'histoire. MAXPPP – Adam Davy

La sprinteuse italienne Valentina Petrillo est devenue lundi la première athlète ouvertement transgenre à participer aux Jeux paralympiques, lors des épreuves de Paris-2024.

At 50, Petrillo fulfilled a childhood dream by taking to the track at the Stade de France to compete in the 400m in the T12 category for visually impaired athletes. She finished second in her heat, in a time of 58.35 seconds, and qualified for the semi-finals that will take place in the afternoon.

In an interview, Petrillo recently explained that competing in Paris would be “the most important moment of my sporting career”, after narrowly missing out on the Tokyo Paralympic Games three years ago. ans.

The Italian has long suffered from Stargardt's disease, a genetic condition of the retina that causes progressive vision loss. But failing to compete in Tokyo was less painful than failing to qualify for the 1996 Paralympics, some time before what she calls her “coming out.” as a woman, made in 2017.

“When I was a man, I wasn't myself, she insists, I was always running with the handbrake on, I wasn't a happy person, not as happy as I am now, even though I'm a few years older”.

Hormone treatment to split his testosterone levels

Born in a man's body, married, Petrillo began living her life as a woman seven years ago, before beginning her transition and becoming a woman in the eyes of the Italian administration in 2023.

After devoting herself to blind football, a five-a-side football for the visually impaired, and representing Italy in the most important tournaments, Petrillo ended up returning to the 200m, “discovered thanks to the myth Pietro Mennea”, former world record holder and 1980 Olympic champion, and the 400m.

Hormone treatment allows her to divide her testosterone level by four and thus conform, with a rate of 5 nanomoles per liter of blood, to the regulations of the International Athletics Federation in order to be able to participate in women's para-athletics events.