Valentina Petrillo responds to JK Rowling criticism after transgender sprinter competes at Paralympics

The Italian was called an ‘out and proud cheat’ by the Harry Potter author over her participation at Paris 2024

Transgender athlete Valentina Petrillo is into the 200m semi-finals (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

Valentina Petrillo insists JK Rowling “doesn’t know anything about me” after the Harry Potter author’s criticism of the transgender sprinter.

Rowling accused Petrillo of being an “out and proud cheat” following her participation at the Paralympics in Paris.

The 51-year-old, who transitioned in 2019, responded trackside by claiming she had “never read Harry Potter.”

Petrillo, who is visually impaired, qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s T12 200m and previously won 11 national titles in the men’s category as a married father of two.

And the Italian has now accused the author of an agenda.

“JK Rowling is only concerned about the fact that I use the female toilet, but she doesn’t know anything about me,” she said in an interview with The Times.

The first openly transgender Paralympian provoked controversy with her involvement, adding to the ongoing debate about protecting women’s sport.

But Petrillo maintains the criticism stems from prejudice and transphobia.

“It was a surprise because I’m not used to this,” she maintained. “I don’t know how to handle it. Before I was focused on my performance so I didn’t know [the full extent of] what was happening around me.

Transgender athlete Valentina Petrillo reached the 200m semi-finals (PA Wire)

“Since 2015, when the IOC opened the Olympics to transgender people, there has only been one person who competed, Laurel Hubbard, [a weightlifter from New Zealand]. And there has only been one [openly transgender] person that has participated at the Paralympics, me.

“So all of this fear that trans people will destroy the world [of women’s sport] actually does not exist. People said [lots of] men would go to compete as women just so they could win, but that has not happened at all. It is just transphobia.”

Petrillo also called for an end to prejudice and discrimination in Paris, stating “people still die for being trans”.

“Listen, I’m the first to ask myself these questions,” she told Italian television channel Rai 1.

“Before, when I decided not to run anymore because I no longer felt like running as a male, I asked myself these questions. I said, ‘What if you, as a biological woman, saw Valentina on the track?’

Petrillo at the Paris Paralympics (AP)

“I think that question is legitimate. It’s normal. We are born in a society that leads us to make certain speeches, but during this journey I learned many things, and then I actually understood where the problem lies.

“The problem is an information problem. So we must talk about these things, we must not be afraid. We must ask ourselves questions, the world of sport must also question us.

“Certainly, the word inclusion must be at the forefront of the world of sport, because a solution must be found for everyone.”