Italian Paralympic Athletics Championship - Source: Getty — Valentina Petrillo (Image via Getty)

Who is transgender athlete Valentina Petrillo? All about the Italian runner and her controversial participation in 2024 Paralympic Games

Modified Sep 03, 2024 12:53 GMT

Valentina Petrillo is an Italian transgender Paralympic track and field athlete who generally competes in the women's 200m and 400m events. She competed in the women's 400m event at the 2024 Paralympic Games but failed to reach the final.

As a result, she became the first transgender athlete to compete in any event at the Paralympic Games. Following her inclusion in the Italian squad for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, Petrillo opened up about her thought process in an interview. She stated (via NBC):

"I still find it hard to believe it and I’m keeping my feet on the ground because my chance to participate in Tokyo was missed by a whisker. I will only start thinking about the Paris Games once I arrive in France."

Petrillo produced some impressive performances at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships, owing to which she was selected for the 2024 Paralympic Games. However, her participation in the event caused a public outcry with many popular names such as J.K. Rowling slamming the authorities for allowing the Italian to compete in the women's category. Let's know more about this Italian paralympic athlete.

Valentina Petrillo: Family and hometown

Petrillo was born in the Campanian city of Naples on October 2, 1973. However, no concrete information is available about her parents or other members of the family. She lost her eyesight at the age of just 14 due to an inherited disease, Stargardt disease.

Valentina Petrillo: Education

Petrillo at the Italian Paralympic Athletics Championship (Image via: Getty Images)

Petrillo completed most of her education in Bologna. She studied computer science at Francesco Cavazza in Bologna. In addition to her studies, Petrillo trained primarily at the Gnaro Jet Mattei and PAT Association for athletics.

Valentina Petrillo: Career overview

Over the course of her more than 20-year career, Petrillo has dabbled in a variety of sports. During her junior days, the Naples native joined the national futsal team of Italy (visually challenged division). She also competed for various other futsal teams, such as Omero-Bergomo.

However, Petrillo had a very high interest in athletics and was highly motivated by the Italian track and field athlete Pietro Mennea's impressive 200m event victory at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Before Petrillo started competing in the women's category of the events in 2019, she had clinched 11 national-level titles in the men's category. In the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships, Petrillo clinched two bronze medals in the women's 200m and 400m events.

In addition, she holds the national record in the women's paralympic T13 class 400-meter events.