FACT SHEET: ITALIAN SPRINTER VALENTINA PETRILLO AND PARTICIPATION OF TRANSGENDER, NONBINARY ATHLETES IN THE 2024 PARIS PARALYMPIC GAMES

Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo, is set to make history as the first out transgender athlete to compete in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

When she was just 14-years-old, Valentina Petrillo was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, an inherited disorder that frequently causes vision loss in childhood and adulthood. 

At the Paris Paralympics she will run the 200-meter and 400-meter races under T12 classification. T12 events are track events that adjust for athletes with very low visual acuity. 

Petrillo publicly came out as transgender in 2018.

You can read her athlete profile by GLAAD here.

Reporters and creators covering the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, reporting on transgender and nonbinary Paralympians, are encouraged to include the following facts and context when reporting on Valentina Petrillo’s story and participation:

• Petrillo became the the first transgender runner to compete at the Paralympics when she competed in the women’s 400m T12 heats on Monday, September 2.
• Although Petrillo advanced to the semifinals and qualified as one of the fastest runners-up (with a time of 58.35 seconds), she failed to advance to the finals.
• Petrillo will compete in the women’s 200m T12 competition on Friday, September 6.
• Previous reports that Petrillo was the first out transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympics were inaccurate, with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirming to CNN that Dutch discus thrower, Ingrid van Kranen, was a transgender Paralympian when she competed at the Paralympics in Rio in 2016.
• The Associated Press (AP) reported: 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 referred the AP to a study funded by the IOC — and published in April in the British Journal of Sports Medicine — showing that transgender women were actually at a physical disadvantage compared to cisgender women across several areas, including lung function and lower body strength.
  • In a recent interview with the AP, Petrillo said: “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.”
• Transgender, non binary and intersex athletes have participated in the Olympics since at least the 1930s.
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced last month that for the first time in history, the Paris Games will feature full gender parity on the Olympic fields of play. Transgender inclusion has had no negative effect on participation and parity at the Olympics, or any other level of participation. This fact mirrors research on transgender participation showing states with inclusive policies have more girls and women participating in sports than states with bans.
• Reporters must note the (IOC) released guidelines more than two years ago to support transgender participation, written in consult with medical, athletic and human rights professionals, stating there should be “NO PRESUMED ADVANTAGE BASED ON SEX ASSIGNED AT BIRTH OR SEX CHARACTERISTICS.”
• IOC recommendations additionally include guiding principles for all sport federations to follow, encouraging:
  • Inclusion of athletes of all gender identities;
  • Use of an evidence-based approach in constructing rules;
  • Preventing athletes from undergoing unnecessary procedures or treatments to be eligible.
• The IOC released a media guide that includes guidance on reporting on transgender and nonbinary athletes. The Olympic Broadcast Services has also committed to covering all athletes and gender identities accurately, fairly and inclusively, and has committed to parity in its broadcast production. For Paris 2024, this includes hiring approximately 35 female commentators and ensuring balanced gender representation among senior staff and venue production teams.
• For reference, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee guidelines on transgender athlete participation in Sport can be found here.

For more information on covering LGBTQ athletes at the Paris Games, please see the 2024 Paris LGBTQ Olympic and Paralympic Guide by GLAAD, Athlete Ally and Pride House Paris.