The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman title competition has erupted into controversy after an athlete, Jammie Booker, described by competitors and coaches as a biological male won the title—only to have it stripped days later as officials scrambled to contain the backlash.
American competitor Jammie Booker finished the event in first place, edging out renowned British strongwoman Andrea Thompson. But almost immediately after the medal ceremony, confusion and outrage rippled through the strongwoman community.
Never happens.
Andrea Thompson just had her title stolen by a man, Jammie Booker, who won 1st at the World’s Strongest Woman competition in Arlington, Texas.
“This is bulls&@$. Can we go?” pic.twitter.com/y8JakhMNQL
— XX-XY Athletics (@xx_xyathletics) November 25, 2025
Video circulating online appears to show Thompson stepping down from the podium before the ceremony concluded. As Booker celebrated, Thompson walked away visibly frustrated, seemingly muttering “this is bull****” under her breath. The moment spread quickly across social media and raised questions that organizers struggled to answer.
Days later, the Official Strongman World Championships announced that Booker had been disqualified from the Women’s Open category.
In a public statement, organizers confirmed that all points and placements would be reallocated and that the “rightful places” would be given to the competitors who qualified under the rules.
Coaches, athletes, and former champions have spoken out, calling the incident a massive breach of trust and a failure of transparency at the highest levels of strongwoman competition.
Rebecca Roberts, a three-time World’s Strongest Woman champion, posted a lengthy and impassioned statement criticizing the situation.
She claimed that neither the competitors nor the organizers knew anything about Booker’s background prior to the event. Online investigators quickly pointed to an old YouTube channel that appears to belong to Booker, where a 2017 description identifies the user as a “21-year-old trans woman… struggling to stay true to herself.” While that information had never been disclosed to competition authorities, it fueled even greater outrage once it emerged.
Roberts later posted a “Protect Women’s Sports” graphic and elaborated further on her stance. She stressed she holds no hatred toward transgender individuals but insisted that women’s divisions must remain restricted to biological females to preserve competitive fairness.
She argued that strength sports, more than many others, are heavily influenced by biological differences that do not disappear through hormone therapy or identity changes. Her post quickly gained support across the strongwoman world, with many praising her for speaking up despite the controversy.
She wrote that the lack of transparency had shaken trust in the sport and warned that allowing biological males to enter women’s categories—whether by accident or design—could permanently alter strongwoman competition. In her words, “Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.” Thompson herself liked the post, signaling her agreement.
Laurence Shahlaei, Thompson’s coach and a respected figure in the strength world, publicly congratulated her and stated that she had “absolutely dominated” several core events during the championship. He emphasized that the women’s class exists for a reason and must be preserved. He also praised the third-place finisher, Jackie, who now moves up in the rankings following Booker’s disqualification.
Other prominent athletes weighed in as well. Mitchell Hooper, the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, supported Thompson and described her performance as a “champion’s performance.” Hooper later released his own video recounting his impressions from attending the competition in person.
He stated that the moment he saw Booker, he thought something looked off, describing Booker as noticeably larger, heavier, and stronger than any of the female competitors. He estimated Booker appeared “three to four inches taller, and probably 80 pounds heavier than her closest competitor.”
Hooper reiterated that while everyone should have the freedom to live as they choose, there must be firm lines when it comes to women’s sports. Several major names in the sport echoed his sentiment, including three-time champion Donna Moore, who called Thompson the “true winner of World’s Strongest Woman,” title.
As anger grew among fans and competitors, the controversy transformed into a major governance crisis for Official Strongman. Many athletes demanded answers about how an athlete’s sex classification—ordinarily a straightforward administrative formality—went unchecked in a world championship event.
Facing mounting pressure, organizers released a detailed statement acknowledging the oversight. They confirmed that Booker is a biological male who identifies as female and that officials were entirely unaware of this before the competition. They emphasized that had they known, Booker would never have been permitted to compete in the women’s division. They said that multiple attempts had been made to contact Booker since the findings came to light but that no response had been received.
The organization made its policy clear going forward: competitors may only participate in the category corresponding to their biological sex at birth. They emphasized that the sport is inclusive and welcomes all athletes but stressed that fairness demands separating divisions based on biological reality. They added that this is essential to maintaining competitive integrity in strength-based sports where male physiological advantages directly influence outcomes.
With Booker officially disqualified, Thompson has now been named the rightful 2025 World’s Strongest Woman. Despite the turmoil surrounding the championship, many supporters have praised her for maintaining professionalism while standing firm on principles of fairness and athletic integrity.
