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Speaking to Radio Marca, former Olympian boxer and Olympic boxing trainer Rafa Lozano revealed that he thought the inclusion of Khelif in the women’s category was unjust and dangerous to females. “I don’t see it as fair. Everyone can think what they want, but that’s how I see it,” Lozano said, recalling his observations of the Algerian during a training retreat at the sport centre CAR Blume in Madrid.
“They were doing a retreat at Blume and we couldn’t put her with anyone. We put [Khelif] with Jennifer Fernandez and it hurt her.
Whoever we put [Khelif] with was injured.”
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In an
exclusive interview with
Le Point magazine,
Khelif’s coach confirmed that the Algerian has a male karyotype and high testosterone.
Georges Cazorla told the magazine of Khelif’s distress when disqualified by the IBA in 2023, confirming that biological tests had been carried out by the IBA that revealed that Khelif may not be female.
Cazorla is the President of the Association for Research and Evaluation in Physical Activity and Sport (AREAPS), a scientific advisor, and
a former lecturer University of Bordeaux who supervised the master’s thesis of Khelif’s manager, Nasser Yefsah. At the end of 2022, Yefsah contacted Cazorla to assist with Khelif’s training for the world championships, the African championships and the Olympic Games.
“The [disqualification] was based on tests. Frankly, I found it disgusting. Regardless of the results of these biological tests and, without going into detail – that is a matter for biologists and doctors – this poor young girl was devastated, devastated to suddenly discover that she might not be a girl,” Cazorla said.