Italian sprinter makes Paralympic history

The first openly transgender athlete in Paralympics history, Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo, competed in the Paris Games on Monday.

Petrillo, 50, finished second in her heat of the T12 400 metres, a category for visually impaired athletes, in a time of 58.35sec and qualified for the semi-finals later on Monday.

Petrillo suffers from Stargardt disease, a genetic retinal condition which leads to progressive loss of vision.

Unlike her opponents in the race, she competed without a guide runner.

In an interview with AFP ahead of the Games, Petrillo said competing in Paris would be "the most important moment of my sporting career" after she just missed out on the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.

She came out as a woman in 2017.

"When I was a man, I wasn't myself, I ran with the handbrake on, and I wasn't happy. Certainly not as happy as I am now, even if I'm a little bit older," she told AFP.

After first representing Italy in blind football, Petrillo reconnected with her first passion, the 200m, which she fell in love with after being inspired by former Olympic champion and world record holder Pietro Mennea.

She is also expected to run in that event during the Paralympics.