‘World’s Strongest Woman’ title revoked amid transgender controversy

(MENAFN) The 2025 winner of the World’s Strongest Woman competition has been stripped of her title after organizers discovered that Jammie Booker, who had won the Women’s Open category at the Cerberus Strength Official Strongman Games in Texas, was biologically male. Reports indicate that event officials were unaware of Booker’s biological sex prior to the competition.

In a statement, the organizers said, “Given this, we have disqualified the athlete in question,” emphasizing their responsibility to “ensure fairness” by placing athletes in categories corresponding to their sex at birth. Following the disqualification, the official results now list the UK’s Andrea Thompson as the winner.

The participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports has become increasingly contentious. In July, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee barred transgender women from competing in women’s Olympic events in compliance with an order by President Donald Trump, which prohibits transgender females from women’s teams and links federal funding to adherence.

High-profile cases, such as US swimmer Lia Thomas and New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, have intensified the debate over whether transgender competitors retain physiological advantages over biological females. While the International Olympic Committee stated in 2021 that there should be “no presumption of advantage” and delegated eligibility decisions to individual federations, disputes continue.

The issue resurfaced during the 2024 Paris Olympics when Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, previously ruled ineligible for the World Championships over gender criteria, won gold. Former IOC President Thomas Bach argued at the time that there is “no scientifically solid system” to definitively distinguish male and female competitors in sports, highlighting the ongoing controversy.

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