Transgender Paralympics Runner Fails to Qualify for Women’s 400-Meter Final

A transgender Italian Paralympics runner failed to qualify for the 400 M sprint in the women’s T-12 category after placing third in a semifinal competition.

Valentina Petrillo, a biological male, qualified for the semi-finals at the Paris Paralympics with a time of 58.35 seconds in the first round. However, during the semi-finals, Petrillo received a time of 57.58 seconds and came in third, according to Fox News.

Hagar Safrarzadeh Ghahderijani, an Iranian Paralympic athlete, finished with a time of 56.07, while Alejandra Paolo Perez Lopez, a Venezuelan Paralympic athlete, finished second with a time of 56.34.

Petrillo began running when he was younger; however, upon finding out he had Stargardt disease at 14, he stopped, and it wasn’t until Petrillo was 41 that he began competing in para-athletic competitions as a male, according to the Athletic.

Symptoms of Stargardt disease include, “slow loss of central vision in both eyes,” as well as “gray, black, or hazy spots in the center of your vision,” “sensitivity to light,” and “color blindness,” according to the National Eye Institute.

After his loss, Petrillo stated that he had “pushed harder” than he had in the morning, but added that the other athletes were “stronger” than him.

“I tried until the end, I couldn’t do it,” Petrillo said, according to the outlet. “I missed that last night. 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.”

Between 2015 and 2018, Petrillo won 11 national titles while he was still competing in the men’s T12 category, according to the outlet.

As Breitbart News has previously reported, in 2023, Petrillo won the bronze in the women’s 400 M race at the Paralympics.

In 2018, after revealing to his wife that he identified as transgender, Petrillo “started living as a woman,” and at the beginning of 2019, Petrillo started hormone therapy, according to BBC News.