Paralympics: Italy’s first transgender sprinter fails to reach 400m final | Other sports news

Italian transgender athlete Valentina Petrillo has failed to reach the final of the 400 metres T12 for visually impaired runners after finishing third in her semi-final at the Paralympic Games.

The 50-year-old Petrillo ran a personal best of 57.58 seconds in Monday’s second semi-final, but finished behind Iran’s Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani and Venezuela’s Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez, both of whom advanced to Tuesday’s final.

Petrillo previously ran the fourth heat in the first round in 58.35 seconds, which qualified him for the later semi-final.

Petrillo was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a retinal disease that causes progressive vision loss, at age 14. Petrillo gave up running as a result, although her dream of competing was sparked by Italian athlete Pietro Mennea’s gold medal performance in the 200 meters at the 1980 Olympic Games.

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