The 51-year-old sprinter participated in the women’s T12 category on Monday for visually impaired athletes and came in second in her heat with 58.35 seconds, 1.38 seconds behind the Venezuelan Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez.
Petrillo ranked six of the fastest in the qualification for semi-finals—2.99 seconds off the pace of the world record holder and top qualifier, Omara Durand of Cuba.
The semi-finals are scheduled to begin later on Monday at 19:43 BST and the final is scheduled for Tuesday at 11:14 BST.
To Paris, Petrillo, who transitioned in 2019, said that her participation in it will be an important symbolism of the inclusion process.
At the present, there is no coherent attitude in the sphere of sport regarding the admission of the transgender.
The IPC policymaking process enables international sport governing bodies to make their policies on their own.
IPC president Andrew Parsons said Petrillo would be ‘welcome’ in Paris under current World Para Athletics policies but wants the sporting world to ‘unite’.
The IPC has now clarified that Petrillo is not the first transgender athlete to have participated in the Paralympics.