Transgender runner fails to qualify for women's 400-meter final at 2024 Paralympic Games

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Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo, who became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, will not race for a medal in the women’s T12 400-meter sprint after a third place finish in Monday’s semifinal. 

The 50-year-old athlete, who began transitioning in 2019, qualified for the semifinal with a time of 58.35 in the first round heat. 

Italy's Valentina Petrillo prepares to compete in the women's 400m T12 round 1, at the Stade de France Stadium, during the 2024 Paralympics, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Paris, France.  (AP Photo/Jackson Ranger)

Petrillo finished second in the heat without a guide. 

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Petrillo would advance to the semifinal, finishing with a personal best of 57.58. But it wasn’t enough to qualify for Tuesday’s final. The Italian finished third behind Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani of Iran and Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez of Venezuela. 

Petrillo was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition known as Stargardt disease as a teenager. While competing as a male, Petrillo won 11 national titles in the men’s T12 category between 2015 and 2018 before eventually transitioning. 

Italy's Valentina Petrillo competes in the women's 400m T12 round 1, at the Stade de France stadium, during the 2024 Paralympics, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Paris, France.  (AP Photo/Jackson Ranger)

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"I began transitioning in 2019 and in 2020 I realized my dream, which was to race in the female category, to do the sport that I had always loved doing," Petrillo told The