This Italian Sprinter Will Become First Transgender Woman To Compete At Paralympics

바카라�I said I wanted to be like him,바카라� said Petrillo, a transgender woman who was raised as a boy. 바카라�I wanted to put on the blue (Italy) shirt, I wanted to go to the Olympics. But 바카라� and there was a but 바카라� I wanted to do it as a woman because I didn't feel like a man, I didn't feel like myself.바카라�

Four decades later, at 50, Petrillo is about to finally realize her dream, but not at the Olympics. In two weeks, she is set to become the first transgender woman to compete at the Paralympics when she runs the 200 and 400 meters in the T12 classification for visually impaired athletes in Paris.

World Athletics last year banned transgender women from competing in the female category at international events if they transitioned after puberty. But its para counterpart, World Para Athletics, has not followed suit.

Petrillo, who was diagnosed as a teenager with Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition, considers herself lucky despite the challenges she's faced. She's lived most of her life as a man and only came out as transgender to her wife 바카라� with whom she has a son 바카라� in 2017 before beginning hormone therapy two years later.

바카라�Yes, I have problems with my vision, I'm partially sighted, I'm trans 바카라� and let's say that's not the best in our Italy, being trans 바카라� but I am a happy person,바카라� she told The Associated Press in an interview at a track she trains on in a suburb of Bologna, where she lives.

바카라�I began transitioning in 2019 and in 2020 I realized my dream, which was to race in the female category, to do the sport that I had always loved doing,바카라� she said. 바카라�I got to 50 before it came true 바카라� we all have the right to a second choice of life, a second chance.바카라�

In a statement to AP, the WPA said transgender athletes in its women's competitions are required to declare their gender identity for sporting purposes is female and provide evidence that their testosterone levels have been below 10 nanomoles per liter of blood for at least 12 months prior to their first competition.

Testosterone is a natural hormone that increases the mass and strength of bone and muscle after puberty. The normal adult male range rises to up to about 30 nmol per liter of blood compared with less than 2 nmol/L for women.

바카라�Any future changes to WPA's rules position in this area will only be considered following appropriate consultation with teams and athletes and taking into consideration the rights and best interests of all those involved,바카라� it said.

In a sport already grappling with how to create a level playing field among athletes with different levels of impairment, some of Petrillo's competitors say she has an unfair advantage.

There was a backlash against Petrillo in Spain last year after she narrowly beat Spanish athlete Melani Berges to fourth place in the semifinal of the world championships, meaning that Berges didn't qualify for the final and so missed out on the chance of making it to the Paralympics.

Berges called it an 바카라�injustice,바카라� telling Spanish sports site Relevo that while she 바카라�accepts and respects바카라� transgender people, 바카라�we are no longer talking about daily life, we are talking about sport, which requires strength, a physique.바카라�

The Spanish Paralympic Committee told AP that its stance had not changed since last year, when a spokesperson told Spanish media that 바카라�we respect the regulations of World Para Athletics, which currently allow trans women to compete, as is the case with Valentina Petrillo, but, looking to the future, we believe that it would be appropriate to move towards uniformity of criteria with the Olympic world in relation to this matter.바카라�

German T12 sprinter Katrin Mueller-Rottgardt, who has also competed against Petrillo, expressed similar concerns to German tabloid Bild.

Petrillo said she understands to some extent those who question whether she should be competing in the female category.

바카라�I have asked myself. But Valentina, if you were a biological woman and you saw a Valentina racing with you, what would you think?' And I responded to myself that I would also have some doubts,바카라� she said. 바카라�But then through my experiences and what I learned I can state clearly 바카라� that it doesn't mean that because I was born a man that I will be stronger than a woman.바카라�

Petrillo referred to a study funded by the IOC 바카라� and published in April in the British Journal of Sports Medicine 바카라� showing that transgender women were actually at a physical disadvantage compared to cisgender women across several areas, including lung function and lower body strength.

바카라�This means rather that I have a disadvantage, because apart from anything else, going through hormonal treatment means I am going against my body so against the biology of my body and that's certainly something that's not good for it,바카라� she said.

Petrillo grew up in the southern Italian city of Naples. She thought her running aspirations were over when she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at 14.

She moved to Bologna, in northern Italy, to study computer science at the Institute for the Blind and lives on the outskirts of the city, where she works in the IT sector.