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

euronews (in English)

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

Transcript

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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