The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman competition faced a major controversy when Jammie Booker was disqualified after transgender allegations emerged, resulting in Andrea Thompson being declared the champion. The event held in Arlington, Texas, was marred by disputes over the eligibility of the winner, leading to a significant shift in the outcome. Initially, Booker was crowned the winner, but following the backlash, officials announced the disqualification. Andrea Thompson, a known competitor in the field, was subsequently named the champion, having previously won the title in 2018.
According to Strongman Archives, Booker had not competed in women’s events prior to this past June. It is unclear whether Booker had previously competed as a man, which has raised questions about the integrity of the competition. After backlash over the previous 48 hours, Official Strongman announced that Booker would be ‘disqualified,’ admitting it was unaware of allegations that Booker was born male. The ruling now gives Thompson her second victory in the competition.
Thompson shared a post from her coach, Laurence Shahlaei, congratulating her on ‘winning’ the event. Shahlaei made the post on Monday, one day after the event. Shahlaei told Fox News Digital just prior to Strongman’s announcement that he had been told Thompson would be crowned the champion and that an official announcement would be made. ‘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.
Booker has competed in three events this year, winning the first back in June and coming in second in the North America’s Strongest Woman. On Sept. 14, Booker began a GoFundMe for help get money to compete in the competition. ‘After taking 1st in the Rainier Classic regional (and getting my pro card) and 2nd at the North America’s Strongest Woman competition, I have qualified for the next level of competition at the Official Strongman Games and I have a good chance of reaching the podium at this event as well,’ Booker wrote.
‘Now comes the difficult task of funding the trip. Registration fees are $285, the flight to Texas will be around $350, and the hotel fees for the 3 day competition and pre competition rules meeting will be $900. I simply cannot afford this on my shoestring planet fitness trainer budget. Winning this competition will open huge doors for my career both as an athlete and as a trainer.’
Strongman said it has attempted to reach out to Booker, ‘but a response has not been received.’ On Monday, Booker posted a video to Instagram thanking numerous people for their assistance in what was originally a victory. Booker’s TikTok biography reads that Booker, 28, is the ‘Worlds Strongest Lesbian.’ In a post from January, Booker wrote, ‘no im not a man.’
Booker’s first post on Instagram is a photo posing at a Planet Fitness on July 31, 2022. The controversy has sparked a larger debate about the fairness and inclusivity in sports, highlighting the need for clear guidelines to ensure equitable competition.