First openly transgender Paralympian qualifies for semi-finals

Italy's Valentina Petrillo has go nan first openly transgender jock to compete astatine a Paralympic Games aft qualifying for nan women's T12 400m semi-finals.

The 51-year-old sprinter competed successful nan women's T12 classification connected Monday, for athletes pinch ocular impairments and vanished 2nd successful her power pinch a clip of 58.35 seconds, 1.38 seconds down Venezuela's Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez.

Petrillo qualified sixth fastest for nan semi-finals - 2.99 seconds down apical qualifier and world grounds holder Omara Durand from Cuba.

The semi-finals get nether measurement later connected Monday astatine 19:43 BST, pinch nan last connected Tuesday astatine 11:14 BST.

Speaking to BBC Sport earlier nan Games, Petrillo, who transitioned successful 2019, said that her information successful Paris would beryllium an "important awesome of inclusion".

Currently, location is nary unified position successful athletics towards transgender inclusion.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) allows world athletics governing bodies to group their ain policies.

IPC president Andrew Parsons told BBC Sport that while Petrillo would beryllium "welcome" successful Paris nether existent World Para Athletics policies, he wants to spot nan sporting world "unite" connected its transgender policies.

The IPC has confirmed Petrillo is not nan first transgender jock to compete astatine nan Paralympics.

The governing assemblage told nan BBC Dutch jock Ingrid van Kranen, who died successful 2021, vanished ninth successful nan women's discus last astatine nan Rio 2016 Games.

Mariuccia Quilleri, a lawyer and jock who has represented a number of chap athletes who reason Petrillo's information successful women's races, said inclusion had been chosen complete fairness and "there is not overmuch much we tin do".

Venezuela's Paralympic Committee (VPC) person called it a "a unspeakable inequality that puts female athletes (born female) astatine a awesome disadvantage".

General caput Johan Marin told BBC Sport: "We are wholly against discrimination, inequality and/or removal of immoderate personification aliases group successful immoderate societal sphere.

"Therefore, respect for individual rights, inclusion and equality must ever prevail.

"Precisely because of nan latter, we see that nan inclusion of a transgender jock (born male), successful a female category."

Marin called for an unfastened class for transgender athletes to compete successful calling it nan "fairest and astir sensible thing".

Petrillo won 11 nationalist titles successful nan antheral T12 class for athletes pinch ocular impairment betwixt 2015 and 2018.

With her wife's support, successful 2018 she started surviving arsenic a woman, and successful January 2019 she began hormone therapy.

In 2021, nan Italian said successful an question and reply with nan BBC that her metabolism changed, resulting successful her not being "the energetic person" that she was anterior to nan hormone therapy, which resulted successful her times being slower.

That year, much than 30 female athletes signed a petition that was sent by Quilleri to nan president of nan Italian Athletics Federation and nan ministries for Equal Opportunities and Sport challenging Petrillo's correct to compete successful women's races.

Last year, Petrillo won 2 bronze medals astatine nan World Para Athletics Championships.