The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman competition has been plunged into controversy after a transgender athlete secured the championship title – only to be later disqualified for breaching the rules. Jammie Booker, alleged by fellow athletes and coaches to be biologically male, triumphed over Britain’s Andrea Thompson in Arlington, Texas, at the weekend. Her victory sparked fury throughout the strongwoman community.

Footage from the medal ceremony appears to capture the British athlete departing the podium in visible frustration, seemingly declaring, “this is bull****” whilst Booker celebrated. Thompson, hailing from Melton, Suffolk, has subsequently been acclaimed as the “true World’s Strongest Woman” by her coach and numerous prominent figures within the sport. And Booker has been stripped of her title by the event’s organisers, who claim the American competitor never informed them she was born a man.

“It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who now identifies as female competed in the Women’s Open category,” the organisers, Official Strongman Games, said in a statement. “Official Strongman officials were unaware of this fact ahead of the competition and we have been urgently investigating since being informed.”

The statement added: “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.”

The result will now be altered, meaning Britain’s Thompson will be promoted to champion. “We are clear – competitors can only compete in the category for the biological sex recorded at birth,” organisers added. “Official Strongman is inclusive and proud to run events which do not discriminate against athletes based on personal characteristics.

“Any athlete is welcome. But it is our responsibility to ensure fairness and ensure athletes are assigned to men or women’s categories based on whether they are recorded as male or female at birth.

“All athlete points and places will be altered accordingly to ensure that the rightful places are allocated to each of the Women’s Open athletes.

“The Official Strongman World Championships is an event which is rightly one of the pinnacles of the strength world.

“We are disappointed on behalf of all those who fairly and legitimately took part that the attention has been taken away from their efforts which deserve celebration, no matter how they performed or where they finished. We stand with them and stand with fairness.”

The organisers added that attempts to get in contact with Booker had failed and “a response has not been received.” Three-time champion Rebecca Roberts maintained that neither participants nor event organisers were informed of Booker’s background prior to the competition.

Whilst specifics remain uncertain, a YouTube video uploaded to an account seemingly belonging to Booker in 2017 contains a description as a “21-year-old trans woman… struggling to stay true to herself.”

Roberts subsequently shared an image displaying “Protect Women’s Sports” and released an extensive statement on Instagram contending that transgender women “should not be competing in the women’s category.”

She argued that transparency had been insufficient and maintained that women’s divisions must remain “biologically born female-only.”

She wrote: “I hold no hate toward transgender people. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to live their truth. But I cannot stay silent about something that threatens the fairness and future of women’s strength sports. Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category.

“This isn’t about identity. It isn’t about politics. It’s about the undeniable physical differences that exist in strength-based sports… differences that don’t disappear, and that matter more here than almost anywhere else. Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.

“What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organisers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack. My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.

“I love this sport. I have given my life to it. And I won’t ignore something that could quietly change it forever. Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true World’s Strongest Woman 2025.” Thompson liked the post.

The British athlete’s coach, Laurence Shahlaei, publicly congratulated her, stating she had “absolutely dominated” several key events and noting that “sport is sport and the women’s classes exist for a reason.”

He also praised fellow competitor Jackie, who secured third place. Mitchell Hooper, the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, also backed Thompson, calling her performance “a champions performance.”

His message triggered further support from top names, including three-time champion Donna Moore, who described Thompson as the “true winner of World’s Strongest WOMAN.”

Hooper later released a YouTube video criticising the competition result after attending the event in person. “The first time I saw Jammie, I said: ‘This woman looks different,’” he said, recalling Booker as “three to four inches taller, and probably 80lbs heavier than her closest competitor.”

He added that while individuals should live as they choose, “there is a time when you have to take a stand for women’s sports.”