The Paralympics has approved a middle-aged man with poor eyesight to compete against disabled female athletes at the upcoming Games this year.
50-year-old Fabrizio Petrillo, who calls himself “Valentina” and claims to be a “transgender woman,” will be competing in the female T12 sprinting category at the Paralympic Games when it starts later this month.
He qualifies for the Paralympics because he’s listed as being “visually impaired.”
Petrillo previously competed in the male events but recently started competing against women after he claims to have “transitioned” into a “female” – a scientifically impossible feat.
In 2019, after passing his peak as a male runner, Petrillo started calling himself “Valentina” and began competing in women’s events.
In his prime, he has already won 11 national titles in the Paralympics competing among males.
The decision to include a male athlete in women’s events at the Paralympics for the first time has been met with a backlash, GBN reported.
Canada’s former Olympic head coach Peter Eriksen blasted the Paralympics for pitting men against women, calling the decision on Petrillo “shocking.”
As women’s rights advocates have warned, indulging “transgender” athletes undermines the original rational basis for having sex-specific athletics in the first place.
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