Valentina Petrillo ran her personal best Monday at the Paralympics in Paris, but it was not enough to qualify for Tuesday’s finals in the 400m T12 competition.
Losing to two cisgender women was also not enough to quell a social media firestorm of transphobia and hate directed at the first out trans Paralympian runner.
Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani of Iran was first across the finish line, followed by Venezuela’s Alejandra Perez. Petrillo, the Italian sprinter, finished third with 57.58. “I tried until the end, I couldn’t do it,” Petrillo, 51, told reporters after the race. “I missed that last straight.
I pushed harder than this morning and I tried. They are stronger than me. There is nothing I can do. I had to do 56 to get into the final.