Meet Valentina Petrillo: The Italian sprinter set to become the first Paralympic transgender athlete

  • 2 months ago
Despite facing controversy and claims of unfair advantage, Petrillo is set to compete in the T12 classification for visually impaired athletes in Paris.

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00:00In January 2019 I started the transition path and in 2020 I realized my dream, which was
00:29to compete in the women's category, to do the sport that I have always loved to do because
00:39I fell in love with athletics when I was seven years old, seeing my myth Pietro Menea
00:44win the 1980 Moscow Olympics, there I fell in love with this sport, I said to myself
00:50I want to be like him, I want to wear that blue shirt, I want to participate in the Olympics,
00:58but I wanted to do it as a woman because I, as a man, did not feel like myself.
01:05There are very clear and precise regulations, I respect these regulations, among other things I am
01:17legally a woman, that is, my document cites that I am of female sex with a regular
01:23birth certificate, unfortunately we still live in situations where transgender people
01:30are marginalized, who will never be able to change a document as I did, who will never
01:35be able to have what they deserve, the respect they deserve and that from my story
01:42you can draw inspiration and strength to believe that there is a different tomorrow.

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