Tennis great Martina Navratilova He slammed Valentina Petrillo, the 50-year-old Italian sprinter who is set to become the first transgender woman to compete at the Paralympics next week, as a “pathetic fraud.”
Navratilova, a vocal supporter of women’s rights in sports, denounced Petrillo on social media on Thursday. Petrillo said: 2024 Paris Paralympics She won the T12 class women’s 200m and 400m races for visually impaired athletes.
Valentina Petrillo of Italy celebrates after the women’s 400m T12 final during day six of the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships at Stade Charletis on July 13, 2023 in Paris, France. (Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
“Petrillo is a pathetic cheater,” Navratilova posted on X.
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In an earlier post responding to a video of Petrillo talking about the Summer Olympics, Navratilova said it was “disgusting” that the Italian runner was “stealing the women’s trophy.”
“Once again, a man’s trophy has gone to a woman. [the] And the Paralympics too. I’m sick of it.”
Petrillo, 50, was diagnosed with a progressive eye disease known as Stargardt’s disease as a teenager. Italian Athletes Competing as a man, he won 11 national titles in the men’s T12 category between 2015 and 2018 before eventually transitioning.
“I began my gender transition in 2019 and in 2020 I raced in the women’s division, fulfilling my dream of playing the sport I’ve always loved,” Petrillo said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “I turned 50 before that happened… We all deserve a second choice, a second chance at life.”
Italian athlete Valentina Petrillo trains in Pieve di Cento, near Bologna, Italy, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Valentina Petrillo is set to become the first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympic Games in Paris later this month. (AP Photo/Antonio Calani)
Martina Navratilova slams critics of her fight for fairness in women’s sport
last year, World Athletics Ban Transgender athletes are barred from competing in women’s events if they transition after puberty, but World Para Athletics, the national governing body for para athletics, has not followed suit, making Petrillo the first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympics.
According to the Associated Press, the WPA said transgender athletes competing in women’s competitions would have to declare their gender identity as female for sporting purposes and prove they had testosterone levels below 10 nanomoles per litre of blood for at least 12 months prior to their first competition.
Some athletes have publicly voiced concerns about the fairness of Petrillo competing in the women’s competition, which Petrillo has taken into consideration.
Valentina Petrillo of Italy competes at the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships in Paris on July 13, 2023. (Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
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“I asked myself, ‘But Valentina, if you were a biological female and you saw Valentina racing with you, how would you feel?’ And I answered myself that I would have some doubts too,” Petrillo told The Associated Press. “But through my experience and what I’ve learned, I can say with certainty that … being born a male does not make you stronger than a female.”
Petrillo, who won bronze medals in the 200m and 400m at last year’s World Para Athletics Championships, will have the chance to compete in the 400m and 200m sprint finals on September 3rd and 7th, respectively.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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