SIXTY-four years ago, the first Paralympic Games came to fruition – a celebration of inclusivity, diversity and fairness. Brave athletes overcoming the cruellest of hardships and handicaps to dazzle on the global stage. So spare (even more of) a thought for the hard-working, super-fit, talented sportswomen lining up in the T12 200m and 400m sprint events .
. . against Valentina Petrillo, a 50-year-old runner who, six years ago, went by the (very male) name Fabrizio .
Valentina, who towers over her much younger opponents, will become the first openly trans athlete to compete at the Paralympics. The beautiful, impactful Paralympic Games — a showcase of human spirit and resilience — have been traduced; inclusivity over fairness. Male-born humanity over female.
Wokeness over awareness. Because patently, this isn’t fair. In what world would a 50-year-old woman be able to compete at the highest level against opponents 20 or 30 years younger? READ MORE FROM CLEMMIE MOODIE Sally Gunnell isn’t nipping out of retirement any time soon to hop over some hurdles, nor is Sharron Davies freestyling to gold at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Valentina’s opponents have trained and sacrificed as much as their able-bodied counterparts and, arguably, have battled even harder to be on the starting line. They deserve fairness too. Instead, Valentina’s participation means another female won’t be in Paris next week.
As if, for years, women’s sport has not been under- participated in, u.