‘Women are not welcome in woke sports’: Sharron Davies leads anger over decision to let trans athlete compete as a woman in Paralympics – but sprinter says her critics are ‘like Hitler’
The decision to allow the first-ever transgender athlete to compete as a woman at the Paralympic Games has sparked outrage.
Visually impaired 50-year-old Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo is the first-ever transgender athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, and sees her participation as an “important symbol of inclusivity.”
But not everyone shares her opinion. For example, it was Olympic medalist Sharron Davies who led the criticism of Petrillo, who transitioned in 2019, being allowed to compete in the women’s category.
“Another man excluding women from their own category. There is no inclusion for women in woke sports rules, only unfairness, increased danger in a combat sport and disrespect for the whole point of categories,” Davies wrote on X.
She joined former British marathoner Mara Yamauchi, who last year expressed her anger after Petrillo won two bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships, writing: ‘Another female athlete robbed.’
Petrillo has repeatedly criticized her critics. Last year, she wrote that people who criticize her participation in women’s sprint events are “just like Hitler.”
Visually impaired 50-year-old Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo (pictured) is the first transgender athlete to ever compete at the Paralympic Games
But not everyone shares her opinion, with Olympic medallist Sharron Davies leading the outrage over Petrillo being allowed to compete in the women’s category.
Petrillo, who made the switch in 2019, is expected to compete in the T12 200m and 400m in Paris
The transgender athlete said critics who turn away from her at awards ceremonies in protest are “just like Hitler” when he banned Jews from the German national team in 1933.
“You even asked me if I had vision problems. You relegated me to a ‘dedicated’ toilet, like you do with plague victims. (…) This is called Xenophobia,” she wrote on her Facebook page last year.
Petrillo won bronze in the 200m and 400m T12 at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships. Former Canada coach Peter Eriksen called the results “shocking.” He will compete in the 200m and 400m T12 in Paris.
Petrillo, who will begin her bid to win the women’s T12 400m at the upcoming Games on Monday, September 2, thanked the organizers for selecting her. She spoke about her selection. She thanked the organizers for selecting her.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for three years and for the past three years I’ve done everything I could to earn it,” Petrillo said BBC Sport.
‘I deserve this selection and I would like to thank the Italian Paralympic Federation and the Italian Paralympic Committee for always believing in me, especially as a person and as an athlete.
“The historical significance of me being the first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympic Games is an important symbol of inclusivity.”
Others who weighed in on the gender row surrounding Petrillo’s participation included Sex Matters’ Maya Forstater, who shared a post on X calling it “absurd” that the sprinter was allowed to race with women more than 18 years her junior.
Another person responded to X: “This is very unfair,” while a second added: “This has to stop.”
Petrillo competed in men’s national competitions before making the switch in 2019. The athlete was born with Stargardt’s disease, a degenerative eye condition in which tissue develops on the small part of the retina used for sharp vision.
Common symptoms include a gradual loss of vision and the disease is thought to be caused by changes in a person’s genes. There is no known cure for the disease. There is no cure for Stargardt’s disease.
In 2017, Petrillo told her wife that she was transgender and that she would later begin hormone treatment, with her wife supporting her through the process. They are still married and have two children.
She said, ‘I didn’t plan it. I was lying in bed with my wife, about to fall asleep, and I said, “Do you remember the time I told you I dressed up as a woman?” She said, “Actually, it wasn’t just once, I do it every day.”‘
Valentina Petrillo of Italy poses after competing in the 100m T12 during the Italian Paralympic Athletics at Stadio Armando Picchi on September 11, 2020 in Jesolo, Italy
Petrillo (pictured above in Paris last year) was born with Stargardt’s disease, a degenerative eye condition in which tissue develops on the small part of a person’s retina used for sharp vision
Valentina Petrillo of Italy competes in the Women’s 400m T12 final during Day 6 of the Paris 2023 World Para Athletics Championships at Stade Charlety on July 13, 2023 in Paris, France
Petrillo transitioned in 2019. Petrillo’s wife supported the athlete during his transition and they are still married and live together with their two children.
Petrillo was scheduled to compete in her first race as a transgender athlete at the Italian Paralympic Championships in September 2020, where she won gold in the T12 100m, 200m and 400m events.
In 2021, Petrillo, who is just under 5’10” tall and weighs 13 pounds more than he did before transitioning,…
Petrillo’s times are slower than before the medley, despite winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m T12 events at the national championships.
Petrillo previously told the BBC: ‘It’s better to be a slow, happy woman than a fast, unhappy man. I don’t feel like I’m taking anything away from anyone.’
The athlete previously reported side effects including anemia, mood swings and a feeling of physical weakness.
“I understand the doubts, but I don’t think I have an advantage,” Petrillo said in 2020. “My performance has declined mercilessly.”
Petrillo hoped to secure a place at the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, but the Italian Association for Disabled Sports refused a nomination.
The reasons for the decision were not publicly given, but the Telegraph reported that the athlete was under immense pressure from his fellow athletes.
In 2023, when Petrillo won a women’s 200m race in Ancona, Cristina Sanulli, who finished second, said: ‘We don’t feel equal because Petrillo’s physical structure is masculine. So we are not on the same level.
‘Although the personal path that Valentina has taken is respectable, in the sporting field this is not the case and that is why we feel very discriminated against.’