The first Italian transgender athlete
to take part in the Paralympics, Valentina Petrillo, told ANSA
Thurs day US President Donald Trump didn't know what he was
talking about when he recently banned athletes who have
transitioned from male to female.
Naples born Petrillo, 51, who competes in the women's 100, 200
and 400 metre T12 class visually impaired sprint, said "Donald
Trump talks about things he doesn't know: an athlete's
performance is not their testosterone.
"I can even understand it, maybe 20 years ago when information
on the subject was difficult to find I would have thought like
him, because that's what society had led me to think.
£But the performance advantage hasn't been proven and never will
be, simply because it doesn't exist". "Luckily he doesn't decide
- Petrillo continued on the phone - the federations and the IOC
(International Olympic Committee, ed.) decide.
"It's as if (Premier Giorgia) Meloni ordered the CONI (Italian
Olympic Committee) not to let me compete among women anymore...
"It's clear, he did what his voters wanted: it's a political
manifesto, an election spot.
"In a certain sense, it's equivalent to the position on Gaza,
which should become a seaside resort.
"There, he speaks as a dictator, rather than a ruler.
"In the case of sport, he speaks without knowing". Ineffective
on Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the decision valid for US
colleges expresses "however a worrying position": in this case,
sport is the main field of a theme that divides the planet.
"There is a part of the world against it, Trump is breaking down
an open door and with this spot, the sporting 'intolerance' of
those who believe in the simplest statement will increase".
Valentina ran the 200 and 400 in Paris, without qualifying for
the final.
"I am the first one willing to say stop, I will not compete: as
long as it is scientifically proven that I have a performance
advantage.
"But this has never been proven and never can be, because it is
not true: and in fact neither I nor the Olympian Laurel Hubbard,
the only transgender to have ever participated in the Games,
have won.
"In fact, I did not even in the final: the Cuban who won the 400
has a personal best of 51", I who now have a personal best of
56"67 I would not have done that time even when I was 20 years
old...".
Different, the Italian athlete underlined, was the discussion on
biological advantage:
"That exists in sports, but it is not between men and women. It
makes no sense to say that every man is stronger than every
woman, in fact the performance averages show that women reduce
the gap in a cultural context different from the past.
"But - added Petrillo - every Olympic champion has a biological
advantage: Phelps had it for his shoulders, Serena Williams for
her strength, Thorpe for the length of his feet. So what do we
do?
"A category for those taller than 1.80 meters, one for those
with 48 feet, one for the coloreds who run the fastest 100
meters and so on? And then me, in which category should I
compete? I was born a man, but on my birth certificate it says
'woman'".
It would be like - said the Neapolitan bitterly - "if someone
said that if I was born in Scampia I would have to go to jail,
because there is a high crime rate there...".
However, doubts also cross sports, not just politics. And
especially women's sports, with the opposition of many
feminists.
The Italian sprinter knows something about it, whose
participation in the Italian Paralympic championships raised
protests from some opponents.
"Not only Navratilova, an icon of gay rights, said she was
against having athletes and transgenders compete among women.
Also (star skier) Sofia Goggia. These are phrases that hurt me,
because they come from people in sports. On the other hand,
however - concluded Petrillo - I understand them: I too, when I
faced the transition, asked myself questions. But the IOC, which
supports us, commissioned a study in 2024: transgender athletes
are disadvantaged compared to cisgender athletes, both women and
men".
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