Each sport must find its own solution for trans athletes, Paralympics chief says
Each sport must set its own rules on the participation of transgender athletes instead of one global rule, and it must be based on scientific data, International Paralympics Committee President Andrew Parsons said.
BERLIN — Each sport must set its own rules on the participation of transgender athletes instead of one global rule, and it must be based on scientific data, International Paralympics Committee President Andrew Parsons said on Thursday.
Speaking on one year ahead of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Parsons, who is also an International Olympic Committee member, said any decision should have an inclusive approach.
The Olympic Games and Paralympics currently allow transgender athletes to compete.
Italy’s Valentina Petrillo became the first openly transgender athlete to participate in the Paralympics after the visually impaired sprinter competed in Paris last year.
Valentina Petrillo at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.Mauro Ujetto / NurPhoto via Getty Images file“Protecting the female participation is a must but we also have to address the fact that there are more transgender individuals who want to practice high-level sport,” Parsons told Reuters in an interview.
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