Valentina Petrillo fell in love with athletics as a 7-year-old while watching Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea win gold in the 200 meters at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. She wanted to be like him.
Italy's 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 at the Paralympic Games at the end of this month 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. 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.
Berges called it an “injustice,” telling Spanish sports site Relevo that while she “accepts and respects” transgender people, “we are no longer talking about daily life, we are talking about sport, which requires strength, a physique.” Petrillo said she understands to some extent those who question whether she should be competing in the female category.
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