Paralympics

Sport

“I’m not ruling out anything for the future.” Trans athlete Valentina Petrillo hints at competing at the next Paralympics in Los Angeles in 2028

Valentina Petrillo, the first trans athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games, has expressed her interest in participating in the next Paralympics, which will take place in Los Angeles in 2028. Petrillo made her debut on the grand stage at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, reaching the semi-finals of the

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Katie-George Dunlevy, Ireland’s most decorated Paralympic athlete of all time, hopes to inspire visually impaired children and the LGBTQ+ community

The most decorated Irish Paralympic athlete of all time, Katie-George Dunlevy, discovered she had retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision, when she was not yet 12 years old. Now the English-born, out gay athlete, who won a gold and two silver medals at this ye

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Sport

Valentina Petrillo, the first trans athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, responds to JK Rowling post calling the athlete a “cheat”

Valentina Petrillo, the first trans athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, has defended her participation in Paris and hit back after Harry Potter author JK Rowling called her a ‘cheat’ on social media. Petrillo represented Italy in the women’s T12 200m and 400m sprint events for partially sigh

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Sport

LGBTQ+ athletes celebrate most successful Paralympics ever, coming 11th in the medal table

LGBTQ+ athletes won a total of 28 medals at this year’s Paralympics in Paris, scoring the most medals ever and three more than at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Sport

French athlete Dimitri Pavadé comes out as gay after competing at the Paris Paralympics

French athlete Dimitri Pavadé, who represented his home country at this year’s Paralympics in Paris, has come out as gay following his fourth-place finish in the men’s long jump. Pavadé, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, returned to the men’s long jump T64 classification final, where h

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Sport

Martina Navratilova under fire after calling trans athlete Valentina Petrillo a ‘pathetic cheater’

Martina Navratilova has come under fire after calling Italian trans athlete Valentina Petrillo, set to make history at the Paralympics a ‘pathetic cheater’. The 50-year-old, who transitioned from a male to a female in 2019, will compete in the T12 200m and 400m events having won bronze medals in bot

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Sport

“I hope to be the first of many.” Trans sprinter Valentina Petrillo to make history as first trans athlete to compete at Paralympic Games

Even before her first race at the Paris Paralympics 2024, Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo is aware she will make history as the first trans athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games. “I hope to be the first of many,” says the 50-year-old, who will compete in the 400m T12 event for visually impa

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Sport

An “important symbol of inclusion”. Italian sprinter, Valentina Petrillo, set to become the first trans athlete to compete at Paralympic Games

Visually impaired Italian sprinter, Valentina Petrillo, 50, who is set to become the first-ever transgender athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games, believes her participation is an ‘important symbol of inclusion’. Petrillo, who transitioned in 2019, won bronze in the T12 200m and 400m at the 202

By Graham Robson • 1 min read