Andrea Thompson has broken her silence after one of the most dramatic reversals in strongwoman history — and she says she has wanted to “reach out” to the competitor at the centre of the storm.
The 43-year-old Brit has now been officially crowned World’s Strongest Woman 2025 after American athlete Jammie Booker was disqualified from the Official Strongman Games (OSG) in Arlington, Texas. Booker, who had originally finished first, was found to be biologically male, prompting officials to strip the title and reassign placements.
READ MORE: How The Strongman World Reacted To Jammie Booker’s Win And Disqualification
Thompson, who hails from Suffolk, told ITV News Anglia that the past week has been an “emotional rollercoaster.”
“It’s definitely been a rollercoaster, let’s put it that way,” she said. “It’s frustrating, it’s happy, lots of emotions. I’m quite drained now.”
The mother-of-two revealed she only found out she was the true winner the morning after the competition.
“I got a call at 9:00AM the next day after the competition,” Thompson revealed. “They were congratulating me. There was no real celebration. Obviously, I’m pleased with the title but having that moment on the podium where you celebrate your title and the win, it wasn’t there for me.”
In a statement shared to their social media channels, OSG organisers have since confirmed that the athlete who competed under the name Jammie Booker was “biologically male and now identifies as female.” They said officials had been “unaware of this fact ahead of the competition” and had urgently investigated once informed.
In a statement posted to Instagram, the federation wrote: “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.”
They 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.”
Thompson later told the Daily Mail she was “shocked” to learn the news of the OSG’s reversal — and that she found out through an x-rated website, where she saw a photo of Booker.
“I was like oh my goodness, what is this? Is this really a man? What’s going to happen now? What’s going to happen to my place? A hundred questions were going through my head as to what the situation could be,” Thompson said.
She described the situation as “frustrating,” and said she felt deceived.
“I’m annoyed that she’s deceived and been so dishonest,” Thompson told the Daily Mail. “In her application, in coming into a female sport knowing that she’s not biologically female, that she’s already got that advantage on everybody.”
The revised standings now place Australia’s Allira-Joy Cowley second and Canada’s Jackie Osczevski third.
While the disqualification officially makes Thompson the 2025 champion, she admitted the moment had been “bittersweet.”
“I was then actually upset. I should have got that top spot. [The videos show] me looking really miserable, and the way that she’s celebrating, I should have been celebrating.”
Booker had initially shared a video post to her now-private Instagram page following her victory, congratulating her competitors.
“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,” she said in the video. “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.”
Fighting back tears, 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.”
Booker set her profile to private after the OSG disqualified her and crowned Thompson the winner.
Despite her anger, Thompson says she plans to contact Booker personally.
“I have wanted to reach out to her just because she’s a human being at the end of the day and I suspect she’s received a lot of backlash from this but again, I’m also very annoyed with what she’s done and the dishonesty and cloud that’s been brought onto our sport,” Thompson told ITV News Anglia.
Additionally, others in the strongman world – such as World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper – have called for the public to simply congratulate Thompson and NOT target Booker with harassment on social media.
“There is no need to go after Jamie. There’s no need. What’s done is done,” Hooper said in a video shared to his YouTube channel. Everyone has their own struggles, their own difficulties, their own path. So let’s not make this about one person — let’s make this about how we correct this moving forward. Do not take this out on one person; who knows what their internal dialogue is or what they’re going through. I don’t believe that Jamie thought they were doing anything wrong. I genuinely believe they didn’t think they were doing anything wrong.”
In a reflective Instagram post following the announcement, Thompson said the ordeal had been “the most exhausting experience” of her career.
“What should be a momentous occasion has sadly been overshadowed by scandal and dishonesty from someone who was welcomed into our crazy sport. A sport which encourages women to celebrate themselves without being judged on how society says they should be.”
She also praised the organisers for acting quickly to correct the results.
“I am grateful to the team for reaching out to me, investigating and rectifying the situation so quickly,” Thompson said. “Honoring the title to me, which is something we just don’t see in any other sport that has faced a similar position. This means that we, as a community ARE taking a stand. Protecting women’s sport as we have fought so hard for.”
Thompson closed her post with a message to other athletes, saying: “Whilst I cannot say it won’t ever happen again, I am confident that we will work something out to prevent it in the future. For now, ladies, keep showing up. Take up space. Be loud. Be proud. Show your daughters how amazing you are. Much love.”
The Official Strongman Games has since updated its results to confirm Andrea Thompson as the official World’s Strongest Woman 2025, restoring the title she says she never truly had the chance to celebrate.
Featured image credit: Instagram/X
