in a story that has sparked intense debate across the globe JK Rowling the renowned author of the Harry Potter series has taken a strong stance against the inclusion of Valentino Petrillo a transgender Sprinter in the women's semi-finals at the Paris Paro Olympics rolling along with several former Olympic athletes has publicly criticized Petrillo's participation in the women's T12 400m category this controversy has captured the attention of audiences worldwide stirring emotions and raising questions about fairness in sports Valentina Petrillo a 51-year-old athlete from Italy is set to compete in the women's T12 400m semifinals after qualifying earlier this week Petrillo who is visually impaired has a long history in competitive Sports before transitioning patrilla won 11 national titles in the men's T12 category for athletes with visual impairments between 2015 and 2018 since medically transitioning in 2019 at the age of 46 Petrillo has set records in the women's 200 met T12 category and the 400m indor t13 category despite Petrillo's achievements the inclusion of a transgender athlete in women's sports has been met with significant backlash JK rolling took to social media to voice her opinion labeling pillo a cheat in a tweet filled with sarcasm she wrote on X formerly known as Twitter why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo the cheek Community has never had this kind of visibility out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat shaming is over what a role model I say we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on Rowling's tweet ignited a firestorm of reactions with many praising her for speaking out while others condemned her for what they see as a lack of inclusivity joining rolling in the criticism was Mari m a two-time Olympian marathon runner yachi expressed her frustration in a series of tweets stating this makes my blood boil a talented hardworking exceptional female athlete is out of the T12 400m because of a 50-year old father of two performing women face on the world stage the debate didn't stop there Martina naala the former Tennis champion who is currently commentating at the US Open also retweeted yachi's comments at her own thoughts Amen to this thread and stop telling me it's the Democrats that did this it's men who are doing this men in positions of power like the ioc who make the rules and males who know they have an advantage but compete against women anyway in contrast Valentina Petrillo has defended her participation stating that her inclusion is an important symbol of progress and inclusion in sports Petrillo's participation has highlighted the ongoing debate over transgender athletes in Sports a topic that remains divisive and complex this is not the first time JK Rowling has been involved in such controversies during the Olympic Games last month she criticized the inclusion of Algerian boxer imain khif in the women's boxing category khif who is not transgender but reportedly has a difference of sex development had previously failed a gender eligibility test for the sport after winning the Olympic gold Khalif filed a criminal compl compl with French authorities over alleged acts of aggravated cyber harassment in which rolling and ex-owner Elon Musk were named as the Paris par Olympics continue the debate over fairness inclusion and the future of competitive Sports is far from over