Paris. Italian transgender athlete Valentina Petrillo failed to reach the final of the women’s 400m T12 for visually impaired runners after finishing third in the semi-finals on Monday at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Petrillo, 50, had a best time of 57.58 seconds in the second semifinal, but fell behind Iran’s Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani and Venezuela’s Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez, who both advanced to Tuesday’s final.
Earlier, Petrillo ran in the fourth heat of the first round for 58.35 seconds, qualifying for the semifinal later.
Petrillo was diagnosed with Stargardt disease when she was 14, a retinal disease that causes a progressive loss of vision. As a result, Petrillo stopped running, although her dream of competing was sparked by the performance of Italian athlete Pietro Mennea, who won gold in the 200 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games.
Petrillo’s appearance came weeks after Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif of Algeria faced intense scrutiny following false claims about her gender. Her story became one of the biggest stories of the Summer Games.
Petrillo, 50, began her transition in 2019 but has been competing as a para athlete since she was 41. She won bronze medals in the 200 and 400 meters at the 2023 world championships, with times of 26.31 and 58.24, respectively.
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– 2024-09-06 06:56:33
