A visually impaired female athlete from Germany is speaking out against the inclusion of trans-identified males in women’s sports as she is set to compete against a biological male in the Paris Paralympic Games later this month.
Katrin Muller-Rottgardt told Bild that "everyone should live in everyday life the way they feel comfortable," however, "I find it difficult in competitive sport."
Italian track athlete Valentina Petrillo, Muller-Rottgardt said, "has lived and trained as a man for a long time, so it is clear that her physical requirements are different than those of someone who was born a woman. This could give her an advantage."
According to Reduxx, both athletes compete in the women’s T12 classification, a category designated for athletes with visual impairments. They are likely to face off again at the Paris Paralympics 200m.
At the Para Athletics World Championship, Muller-Rottgardt had finished ahead of Petrillo, previously known as Fabrizio, but her guide let go of her wristband too early leading to a disqualification and Petrillo receiving the bronze medal.
Competing as a male, Petrillo won 11 national titles. Petrillo began claiming a transgender identity in the athlete’s mid-40s and began taking cross-sex hormones. Petrillo first began competing in the women’s category in 2020, though the athlete’s legal identification still stated that Petrillo was male.
Muller-Rottgardt said she didn’t know that Petrillo was male until after the 2023 race, as she couldn’t see her opponent due to her impairment.
“It wasn’t a focus for me at all, because it didn’t affect me. I didn’t even notice it, because I couldn’t see her. It was only after the race that people talked about how she looked very masculine. I can’t judge that,” Müller-Rottgardt said.
Petrillo currently holds eight women’s running championship titles and has broken several women’s records. Petrillo won gold in the 100m, 200m, 400, T12 events at the Italian Paralympics Championships in 2020, which qualified the athlete to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. The Italian government intervened and prevented Petrillo from competing at the Tokyo Olympics.
According to Outsports, the Italian Paralympic Committee recently confirmed Petrillo’s selection to their team, making Petrillo the first publicly out trans-identified athlete in Paralympic history. The Paris Paralympics is set to begin on August 28.
Speaking with Relevo, Petrillo said in regards to those who say the athlete should not compete against women, "I gradually understood that you have to live with people's envy and jealousy, unfortunately, but for my part I am aware that what I do is real and therefore I have nothing to fear."
