Over the years, transgender female runner Valentina Petrillo has claimed medals in several events, and she did it again this week, finishing in third place at the World Para Athletics 400-meter race in Paris on Thursday to claim another medal.
With a time of 58.24 seconds, Valentina Petrillo finished in third place behind Omara Durand of Cuba (52.82) and Alejandra Perez Lopez of Venezuela (57.88) to earn the bronze medal, marking her ninth medal in women’s competition.
After being diagnosed with Stargardt disease at age 14, resulting in a loss of sight, Petrillo was running in a category for the visually impaired at this race. The disease halted her athletic career until the age of 41, when Petrillo returned to the sport before her transition, competing in the men’s categories.
Before her transition, Petrillo found plenty of success in the men’s categories, claiming 11 national titles before he transition.
After her transition, Petrillo began competing in women’s competitions. In 2021, she became the first transgender athlete in the international Paralympic Women’s Championship and she currently holds the Italian records for the 200-meter T12 (27.17) and the indoor 400-meter T13 (59.77) for visually impaired runners.
Petrillo’s time in her most recent race would have been good for 14th place in the men’s division.
[Fox News]
