Transgender sprinter Valentina Petrillo fails to reach 400m final on Paralympic debut
- Italian finishes third in semi-final of T12 400m
- Petrillo: ‘I hope my son will be proud of me’
An emotionally overwhelmed Valentina Petrillo, the Italian transgender sprinter whose participation in the Paralympic Games has caused a storm of controversy, said: “I hope my son will be proud of me,” after she failed to reach the final of the women’s T12 400m on Monday night.
Petrillo finished third in her semi-final, with only the top two going through to the final to face the might of Cuba’s Omara Durand. The 51‑year‑old Italian said her opponents had in the end been “stronger than me” but said she was proud of her achievements as she cut short her post‑race press conference after being overwhelmed by tears.