By now, victories in the women's category of "Valentina' born Fabrizio Petrillo hardly make the headlines any more. Petrillo, a man who identifies himself as a woman, already held the national record in several categories of the women's race last year. Recent sporting chronicles report further improvement of its own record.
Petrillo participated in the first round of the Fidal regional societaries in Forlì (14-15 May 2022), where he recorded a new Italian record in the 400 in category T13 (visually impaired), with a time of 59.22, 55 hundredths of a second less than his 2021 performance. "This chrono places her to second place in the world rankings for the season in his category', reports the website of the International Paralympic Committee (here).
Two weeks later, Petrillo repeated the feat in the 200 metres at the FIDAL Regional Championships in Parma (28-29 May), where she achieved a time of 25.97, 36 hundredths of a second less than her performance at the beginning of May. La Repubblica writes: 'Since September 2021, the 48-year-old sprinter has improved by a good 46 hundredths, an incredible progression of international interest which bodes well for the year's upcoming competitions' (here).
The Italian Federation of Paralympic and Experimental Sports (FISPES) nourishes High hopes for Petrillo's possible international victories in the women's category. The federation's official website announces the Petrillo's call-up to the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Paris (9-10 June), the most important international Paralympic event this year, after the cancellation of the World Cup in Kobe.
There will be 26 athletes (8 women, 18 men) wearing the blue jersey at the Grand Prix: among the 8 women there will also be 'Valentina' born Fabrizio, who 'after a season studded with Italian records', writes the FISPES website, 'returns to the national team after the European Championships in Bydgoszcz, appearing in the starting blocks of the women's 100 and 400 T13' (here).
The swimmer 'Lia' Thomas (see here) told Good Morning America that her next goal will be to represent the United States at the Olympic Games in the women's category.
"Lia' born William Thomas, a 23-year-old male who identifies and competes as a woman on the University of Pennsylvania team, she also said: 'I don't need anyone's permission to be myself and to play the sport I love', bringing the American public's attention back to the grotesque injustice of male bodies in women's sports.
They are also emerging the voices of female athletes who were confronted with the ultra-male body of 'Lia'. A teammate, interviewed in Matt Walsh's documentary "What is a Woman?" (2022), while happy about the victories brought by 'Lia' at university, said that female swimmers are uncomfortable with the presence of a man in their changing roomsand protested against the injustice of having to competing against a naturally advantaged male body.
When asked how the coaches and the university received protests by female studentsthe athlete replied that they had brought in 'experts' on LGBTQ issues and psychological support, making it clear that Thomas' 'inclusion' in the women's team was not in questionHowever, they could have 'helped' the students to accept it (the interview segment can be seen here).
In recent days, a article against the inclusion of male bodies in women's sport also in the New York Timesusually of a decidedly pro-trans orientation (remember the violent campaign against JK Rowling, see here). The article (here), entitled 'What Lia Thomas could mean for women's sport' reports the statements of two doctors, who explain that -obviously- Thomas has a 'biological advantage' over female athletes.
Also 'Caitlyn' born Bruce Jenner, former Olympic champion and Republican candidate for governor of California, commented in a Tweet: "Happiness as an individual, like Lia, cannot take priority over the undeniable biological fact that she is trans and has enormous physical advantages." Jenner is in favour of a Save Women's Sports law in Californiawhich would prohibit male-born children from competing in women's competitions, along the lines of those already approved in other states (see here).
The obvious advantage of MtoF athletes in women's sports it was found even in skateboardingbecoming an Olympic discipline as of Tokyo 2020.
The Daily Mail gave space to female skater Taylor Silverman, who was seen Blow the first place by a trans-identified man at the Red Bull Cornerstone Contest, held in December 2021 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Silverman came second and received a prize of $2,750, while the Transgender skateboarder Lillian Gallagher was awarded $5,000 for placing first and winning in two different divisions: money that, Taylor Silverman claims, is owed to female athletes.
Silverman, who has been skateboarding for 11 years, recounted that he tried to contact the tournament organisers to urge them to 'do the right thing even if it is not popular', without getting a response.
"I deserved to come first, to be recognised for my victory and to be paid. I contacted Red Bull and was ignored. I am tired of being forced into silence', Silverman wrote in a post on Instagram.
Full article here.
Maria Celeste
