Italian transgender Sprinter Valentina Petrillo said her debut at the paralympic games was a realization of history when she qualified for the semi-finals of the T12 400m on Monday she qualified for the semi-finals as one of the four fastest Runners but Petrillo 51 finished second in her heat at the state of France saying her success should be seen as a moment to raise awareness of discrimination against transgender people for me it's a realization of History we are here today September 2nd 2024 let's mark this as a historic day from today onwards I don't want to hear any more talk about discrimination or prejudice against trans people we can all succeed because now I have succeeded so if I have succeeded I have done my little bit she said after her race her time of 58.3 5 Seconds was 3 seconds slower than Cuba's Omar Durant a multiple time Paro Olympic champion and Par sport icon Petrillo competes in the T12 category for visually impaired athletes the semi-finals of the competition will take place on Monday evening