Transgender athlete Valentina Petrillo has shared astonishing photos from before she transitioned as she gears up to compete in the Paralympics tonight.
The pictures show Valentina Petrillo, then called Fabrizio, with a receding hairline – a striking difference to the thick blonde locks she has been sporting since transitioning – and a tight smile posing for the camera, often clad in athletic gear.
Petrillo sparked fury from politicians in her native Italy as well as from author JK Rowling who called her an ‘out and proud cheat’ when her qualification for the Paralympics was revealed, having raced as a man until seven years ago.
‘I’m not bothered what JK Rowling or anyone else says, I’m just here for myself and my family. There’s a lot of transphobia out there and I’m here only to compete and ignoring that outside noise,’ the defiant sprinter said.
The visually impaired runner, 51, also shared her wedding photo with now ex-wife Elena in her exclusive interview with MailOnline ahead of her 200-metre semi-final tonight.
Petrillo married Elena in 2016, before coming out as transgender the following year and starting to transition in 2019. The couple, who share a nine-year-old son called Lorenzo, have since gotten divorced.
During their marriage, Elena supported Petrillo with her transition – and even gave her makeup tips.
‘We would go out shopping together for women’s clothes and she would put my makeup on, in the end we divorced but we still live together in Bologna, we are still a family and Lorenzo calls me daddy,’ Petrillo told MailOnline.
The pictures show Valentina Petrillo, then called Fabrizio, with a receding hairline and a tight smile posing for the camera
The visually impaired runner, 51, also shared her wedding photo with now ex-wife Elena in her exclusive interview with MailOnline ahead of her 200-metre semi-final tonight
Valentina Petrillo of Italy in action in Women’s 400m – T12 Semi-Finals during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 2, 2024
Valentina Petrillo, then called Fabrizio, was clad in athletic gear in several of the pictures from before her transition, showing off medals
Naples-born Petrillo added about her marriage to Elena: ‘We met almost 20 years ago in McDonald’s after I had moved to Bologna and it was love at first sight for both of us and our story was complete with the birth of our son and our marriage in 2016.
‘But I knew I was still fighting what was inside me and when Elena would go out I would wear her clothes, I would put on her nail varnish and her lipstick and makeup, she had no idea.
‘In the end when I told her, she thought it was a phase at first, she thought it was something I would grow out of and that had started with the death of my mother but eventually she realised it wasn’t.
‘We would go out shopping together for women’s clothes and she would put my make up on, in the end we divorced but we still live together in Bologna, we are still a family and Lorenzo calls me daddy.
‘Elena and I love each other but it’s a different love, we know that we can’t have a physical relationship and she has a partner but we are together for Lorenzo and they are my two biggest loves.’
In her exclusive interview with MailOnline in Paris, Petrillo ignored what she calls the ‘haters’ and has now qualified for the semi finals of the T12 200 metres on Friday – her favourite distance – as a fast loser, with a season best time of 25.95 seconds
Petrillo, who also has a nine-year-old son, also insisted she was sending a message of ‘support and hope to other transgender people’ by competing.
Petrillo – who on her Facebook page has the slogan ‘Better a slow but happy woman, than a fast but sad man’ – said: ‘For me to be in Paris, the culmination of a dream I’ve had ever since I was a child and to have my ex-wife and son with me here is fantastic. I want to make them so proud, especially little Lorenzo.
‘When I was growing up it was in a tough neighbourhood, there was crime and drugs, and I had to run home just to be safe and that’s what got me interested in athletics but inside I knew I felt different to other boys.
‘My best friend Desiree was a girl, and we played together all the time, I would be the girl, and she would be the boy but she grew out of it as she got older and became a woman and we lost touch but I always felt happier as a woman.
Petrillo, who failed to make the cut for the 400m after being knocked out in the semi-finals on Monday, is competing at the Paralympics through an eye disorder called Stargardt Syndrome, which she developed growing up
Petrillo (pictured) married Elena in 2016, before coming out as transgender the following year and starting to transition in 2019
Valentina Petrillo of Team Italy competes in Women’s 400m T12 on day five of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 02, 2024 in Paris, France
Before transitioning, Petrillo had a receding hairline and grey hair – now she is sporting thick blonde locks
‘I couldn’t do anything about it, I had a cousin who came out as trans when I was younger and his father kicked him out of the house, I didn’t want that to happen to me I because I knew it would have a negative effect on me.
‘When I was younger, I was actually a very macho male, I suppose I was trying to fight against what I felt inside but those feelings of being a woman inside a man’s body always won out.’
Petrillo is allowed to compete at the Paralympics because her testosterone levels are below the legal limit required to compete thanks to hormone treatment and she has been given the green light by the sport’s governing body.
Her passport – which she obtained last year – lists her as a woman, and she says nothing will stop her achieving her dream.
Under World Para Athletics rules, a person who is legally recognised as a woman is eligible to compete in the category their impairment qualifies them for. The decision to include Petrillo in the Paralympics sparked international fury.
But Harry Potter author JK Rowling said: ‘Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo? The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility. Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over.
TV host Piers Morgan joined in the furore, calling her participation an ‘utter farce’ and a ‘genuinely existential threat to the integrity of women’s sport’.
‘What a role model. I say we give [disgraced cyclist] Lance Armstrong his medals back.’
Petrillo, who failed to make the cut for the 400m after being knocked out in the semi-finals on Monday, is competing at the Paralympics through an eye disorder called Stargardt Syndrome, which she developed growing up.
Visually impaired Italian sprinter, Valentina Petrillo (pictured), is the first-ever transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games
Pictured above is Valentina Petrillo, born as Fabrizio, before transitioning
Petrillo transitioned in 2019. Petrillo’s wife was supportive as the athlete transitioned and they remain married and living together with their two children
Valentina Petrillo of Italy poses after competing in 100m T12 during the Italian Paralympic Athletics at Stadio Armando Picchi on September 11, 2020 in Jesolo, Italy
Before coming out as trans she competed as a man in races across Italy and won 12 domestic titles, and she shared pictures of herself on the winner’s podium with MailOnline, images which will no doubt fuel anger over the decision to allow her to race.
But Petrillo said: ‘I don’t see why people are saying I have an advantage, I’m an athlete, a female athlete and I’m competing in my chosen sport.
‘Not all men are strong and not all women are weak, that’s what I say to my critics but I’m not one for polemics, I leave that to politicians and the haters. I have been perfectly transparent; I have nothing to hide.
‘My passport says I’m a woman and that means I can compete as a woman, I am not breaking any rules, and I intend to for as long as I can. I’m fighting prejudice against transgender people.
‘It’s not fair that we are attacked and discriminated against for who we are. There is such a fear of trans people like me but I hope by speaking out I can normalise the situation and get rid of this fear.’
The computer programmer also insisted: ‘I am [a] woman running against women’.
She added: ‘It should be about inclusion, both in the Olympics and Paralympics, we need to find a solution for people to compete as how they are and feel.
‘For me it’s not about being trans, it’s about taking part in a sport I love, sport is all about inclusion and not exclusion.
‘I’m not bothered what JK Rowling or anyone else says, I’m just here for myself and my family. There’s a lot of transphobia out there and I’m here only to compete and ignoring that outside noise.’
