American strongwoman Jammie Booker has been stripped of her World’s Strongest Woman 2025 title after the Official Strongman Games (OSG) ruled that she was ineligible to compete in the women’s division.
The decision comes just days after Booker beat Britain’s Andrea Thompson to victory at the OSG World Championships in Arlington, Texas – a victory that swiftly sparked backlash on social media.
Officials now say they were unaware that Booker is a “biological male” who identifies as female and confirmed she would not have been permitted to compete in the Women’s Open category if this had been known.
In a statement shared to their social media channels, OSG wrote: “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 federation continued: “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. We are clear – competitors can only compete in the category for the biological sex recorded at birth.”
They 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.”
OSG confirmed Booker’s disqualification, saying all points and placings would be adjusted “to ensure that the rightful places are allocated to each of the Women’s Open athletes.”
The organisation added: “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.”
It is important to note that the allegations regarding Booker’s gender are – at this time – strictly allegations. Reports from the Daily Mail and The Sun suggest that she has never publicly spoken out about any gender transition, but the overwhelming number of accusations following her win suggest that it was general knowledge within the strongman community.
Booker had initially shared a video to Instagram thanking her supporters following her now-revoked victory, but has since made her profile private.
With Booker officially disqualified, Andrea Thompson is now recognised as the World’s Strongest Woman 2025. The Suffolk-based athlete, a four-time Britain’s Strongest Woman, takes the title amid one of the most high-profile controversies the sport has ever seen. This is reflected on the official OSG website:
The initial ruling followed widespread backlash from within the strongwoman community.
Three-time World’s Strongest Woman Rebecca Roberts wrote on Instagram: “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.”
Roberts continued: “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 Roberts’ post, while her coach Laurence Shahlaei also shared his reaction online. “A huge congratulations to my client but more importantly, my very good friend @andreathompson_strongwoman for winning the World’s Strongest Woman 2025,” he wrote. “You worked your a** off for this and I’m so proud of you. You absolutely dominated the deadlift, log and circus dumbbell and while there are still a couple of weaknesses to work on, you were still the strongest woman on the day.
“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.”
Notable strongmen competitors such as Eddie Hall and Mitchell Hooper also released videos condemning the initial ruling:
The win also made headlines outside of the sporting world, after public figures like Piers Morgan commented on the initial decision.
“Many congratulations to Jammie Booker, who has won the World’s Strongest Woman competition in Arlington, Texas. The fact Jammie is a biological male with a massive physical advantage over the actual women competing shouldn’t detract from this well-earned victory,” Morgan wrote on X.
One of Booker’s sponsors, Iron Ape, also cut ties with her in the wake of the controversy. Company owner Colton Cross said: “We have reason to believe that Jammie Booker misrepresented critical information to OSG officials and judges, resulting in an unfair advantage over the other competitors in the Women’s Open class.
“Effective immediately, Jammie Booker has been removed from the Iron Ape athlete roster… this is not a matter of Jammie’s gender identity. Iron Ape does not, and never will, discriminate against individuals based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic. We expect every Iron Ape athlete to uphold the highest standards of sportsmanship. When those standards are violated, decisive action must be taken.”
In the days after the event, Booker posted an emotional video message to her followers, thanking her fellow competitors and reflecting on the experience. “You are all insanely bada** women and it was an honor just to even share the stage with you and to be there to cheer you on and be cheered on by you,” she said. “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 added: “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.”
For many, the ruling is a defining moment in the debate over transgender participation in elite competition. As the Official Strongman Games concluded in their statement: “We stand with them and stand with fairness.”
Featured image credit: Instagram (screenshots)
