World’s Strongest Woman stripped of title for being ‘biologically male’

An international strength competition has disqualified the winner in the women’s category after discovering that first-place finisher Jammie Booker is male.

Organizers of the Official Strongman Games World Championships stripped Booker of the title in the women’s open category and awarded it to runner-up Andrea Thompson of Great Britain, saying they were unaware of Booker’s actual sex until after the Nov. 20-23 event held in Arlington, Texas.

“It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who now identifies as female competed in the Women’s Open category,” Official Strongman posted Tuesday on Facebook. “Official Strongman officials were unaware of this fact ahead of the competition and we have been urgently investigating since being informed. An attempt has been made to contact the competitor involved but a response has not been received.”

The outcome drew a social-media backlash after a video clip posted online showed Booker raising the first-place trophy in triumph as Thompson stepped down from the podium, declaring, “This is bull——. Can we go?”

Booker, who is American, has not commented publicly on the disqualification. The athlete’s Instagram biography includes “Pro strongwoman,” “worlds [sic] strongest woman 2025,” and “she/her” pronouns.

“Had we been aware, or had this been declared at any point before or during the competition, this athlete would not have been permitted to compete in the Woman’s Open category,” said Official Strongman. “We are clear — competitors can only compete in the category for the biological sex recorded at birth.”

More repercussions may be coming. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton posted Tuesday on X that his office would investigate the situation.

Thompson, 43, stands 5’5 and weighs 247 pounds, far smaller than the 28-year-old Booker, who is reportedly 6’5 and weighs 400 pounds.

Even so, Booker won with a score of 47 points, just one point ahead of Thompson’s 46 points. Thompson’s adjusted score after the disqualification was 64 points.

Jammie Booker, a man pretending to be a woman, just won the title of “World’s Strongest Woman” at the World’s Strongest Woman competition in Arlington, Texas.

Andrea Thompson, the female runner-up, had her title stolen by a man.

KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS pic.twitter.com/MYXCmOSEEc

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 25, 2025

Mitchell Hooper, a Canadian who competes on the strongman circuit, said that Thompson is a “mainstay on the strongwoman stage,” while Booker “has kind of come out of nowhere.”

“Technically, she wasn’t that good, but she was so strong,” Hooper, who attended the competition, said in a YouTube post.

That Booker was initially able to participate in the women’s category underscores how improved gender-transition hormone and surgical treatments have made it increasingly difficult to detect transgender athletes in the female field. The episode also illustrates the rationale behind the heightened push for sex testing, which can be accomplished with a cheek swab, in female sports.

Linnea Saltz, a former NCAA Division I track athlete who ran against a female-identifying male, called it “deeply disappointing that a transgender competitor was allowed to participate, and even initially win in what was billed as a ‘strongest women’s competition,’ not a strongest person’ contest.”

“Women who were born female trained, sacrificed, and showed up to compete against other women; they should not have to fight for equality or legitimacy when the rules are meant to protect fairness,” said Saltz, an Independent Women’s ambassador. “I am glad the award was eventually reassigned to Andrea Thompson, but in truth, it was never someone else’s award to lose. It should have been hers to begin with.”

Official Strongman stressed it welcomes all athletes, but that “it is our responsibility to ensure fairness and ensure athletes are assigned to men’s or women’s categories based on whether they are recorded as male or female at birth.”