The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman competition took place in Arlington, Texas, this past weekend. A normally unremarkable event in the casual fan’s sporting world received a lot of attention.
Jammie Booker initially won the open women’s category, edging out Andrea Thompson by just one point for second place.
Thompson, the 2018 champion, was seen stepping off the podium in a video, appearing to mutter, “This is bulls—.”
Never happens.
— XX-XY Athletics (@xx_xyathletics) November 25, 2025
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
Is Thompson a poor sport? Not quite. Actually, not at all.
Booker, competition officials found out, had cheated. Not informing them of a crucial fact that clearly tainted the competition.
World’s Strongest Woman wasn’t a woman
Backlash to Booker’s win in the World’s Strongest Woman competition was almost immediate. Allegations surfaced from a 2017 YouTube video where Booker claimed to be transgender.
That makes her a biological him.
The competition committee looked into the matter a little more closely, and yes, Booker had misled officials and was subsequently disqualified just days after being crowned, making Thompson the rightful champion.
We’ve reached peak lunacy when a man is given the title of World’s Strongest Woman.
The irony of the World’s Strongest Woman title being won by a man should not be lost on anyone.
— Reagan Conrad Rohrbach (@ReaganConrad) November 25, 2025
Before taking the gold from women, “Jammie Jay” was a trans 🌽 star.
While women train their whole lives for competitions like these, Jammie Booker just started in the women’s… pic.twitter.com/qgcjvlHmBZ
“It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who now identifies as female competed in the Women’s Open category,” a statement from officials reads. However, they deny knowing that fact beforehand.
“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 Women’s Open category,” they continued.
The statement makes it clear that they are an inclusive organization, and anyone can compete in the World’s Strongest competitions. But those born men must compete in the men’s division. Those born women must compete in the women’s division.
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Celebrating the rightful winner
It’s really a testament to Thompson that she only lost to Booker by a single point. Perhaps it’s worked out for the best, in the end. If Thompson had won straight up, this controversy might never have come to light.
And the second and third-place winners in the World’s Strongest Woman competition wouldn’t have received their due either.
With Booker’s disqualification, Thompson was awarded her second World’s Strongest Woman title.
Thompson’s coach, Laurence Shahlaei, congratulated her online, noting support for personal identities but stressing the need for women’s categories in sports.
“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,” Shahlaei wrote.