THE World’s Strongest Woman final descended into chaos after a suspected trans athlete took gold over a Brit competitor.
Outrage erupted after “biological male” American Jammie Booker scooped the 2025 title in Arlington, Texas – only for it to later be sensationally removed by the committee.
Athletes and coaches flew into a rage and runner-up, Andrea Thompson, stormed off the podium after the winner was announced, appearing to say “this is bulls**t,” while Booker celebrated.
A video uploaded to Booker’s YouTube channel in 2017 features Booker telling the camera: “Everyone is dying to tell their own story, and I am obviously no exception to that.
“I’m a 21 year-old trans woman with a history of abuse, struggling to stay true to herself while under the rule of her religious parents.”
Three-time World’s Strongest Woman winner Rebecca Roberts took to Instagram on Monday night to declare her support for the Suffolk-based Thompson, whom she declared to be the true winner.
She said: “My message is simple.
“Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.
“Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true World’s Strongest Woman 2025.”
Thompson, from Melton, Suffolk, was also declared the winner on Instagram by her coach, Laurence Shahlaei, who said: “A huge congratulations to my client but more importantly, my very good friend @andreathompson_strongwoman for winning the World’s Strongest Woman 2025.
“This win hasn’t come without controversy, but I want to make it very clear that while I support and applaud people for being who they want to be, sport is sport and the women’s classes exist for a reason.”
One of Booker’s sponsors, sports strength equipment company Iron Ape, accused the athlete of “misrepresenting critical information to OSG [Official Strongman Games] officials and judges,” before revealing they were no longer affiliated with her.
On Monday, Booker posted an emotional message to social media to congratulate her fellow athletes and address the controversy.
She said: “You are all insanely bada** women, and it was an honour just to even share the stage with you and to be there to cheer you on and be cheered on by you.
“I genuinely did not expect this outcome and I’m not saying that in a way to gloat or be prideful.
“When I signed up for this competition I did not expect to win – it was a pipe dream.”
She continued, tearfully: “Obviously everyone enters a competition wanting to win but I did not think this would be the one for me and the fact that it is, I’m genuinely lost for words.
“I don’t know what comes next, I don’t know where I’ll compete next… I just want to say thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart. It’s really surreal.”
In the midst of the controversy, the Official Strongman Games responded with the bold step of disqualifying Booker and officially stripping the title.
The board said Booker had been dodging their calls since the win.
A statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday read: “We wanted to provide an update on what is happening following the Official Strongman Games World Championships 2025 which were held in Arlington, Texas over the weekend.
“It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who now identifies as female competed in the Women’s Open category.
“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 statement continued.
The organization added that if they were aware of Booker’s alleged gender identity, “this athlete would not have been permitted to compete in the Woman’s Open category”.
“We are clear – competitors can only compete in the category for the biological sex recorded at birth.”
All the other athletes would have their positioning “altered accordingly”, they revealed.
