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The original winner of the 2025 World’s Strongest Woman competition in Arlington, Texas, was stripped of her title after allegations that the athlete was transgender came to light.
Andrea Thompson, the 2018 winner, left the podium at the event this weekend after Jammie Booker won the title.
Thompson came in second place just one point behind Booker in the women’s open category (no weight requirement). A YouTube video from what appears to be Booker’s own channel, from 2017, shows Booker pretending to be “trans.”
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Andrea Thompson (left) finished second to a suspected transgender athlete in the 2025 World’s Strongest Woman competition. (Laurence Shahlaei)
A video showed Thompson coming down from the podium appearing to say: “They’re bulls…”.
According to Strongman Archives, Booker had not competed in women’s events until last June. It is unclear whether Booker had ever competed as a man.
After backlash over the previous 48 hours, Official Strongman announced that Booker would be “disqualified”, admitting that he was unaware of the allegations that Booker was born male. The ruling now gives Thompson his second victory in the competition.
“If we had known, or if it had been stated at any time before or during the competition, this athlete would not have been allowed to compete in the open women’s category. We are clear: competitors can only compete in the category of the biological sex recorded at birth,” the Strongman official said in a statement on Tuesday. “Official Strongman is inclusive and proud to host events that do not discriminate against athletes based on their personal characteristics. Any athlete is welcome. But it is our responsibility to ensure fairness and ensure that athletes are assigned to male or female categories based on whether they are registered as male or female at birth.”
Thompson shared a message from her coach, Laurence Shahlaei, congratulating her on “winning” the event. Shahlaei posted this message on Monday, a day after the event. Shahlaei told PK Press Club Digital just before Strongman’s announcement that he was told Thompson would be crowned champion and an official announcement would be made.
“This victory was not 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 women’s classes exist for a reason,” Shahlaei wrote.
Jammie Booker has competed in only three official Strongman events, winning two. (iStock)
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Thompson finished third in 2019 and second in 2022 at the same competition. She won the Masters World’s Strongest Woman event, reserved for women aged 40 or over.
Booker competed in three events this year, winning the first in June and finishing second in North America’s Strongest Woman competition. On September 14, Booker started a GoFundMe to get money to enter the competition.
“After winning first place at the regional Rainier Classic (and earning my professional card) and second place at North America’s Strongest Woman competition, I qualified for the next level of competition at the Official Strongman Games and have a good chance of reaching the podium at that event as well,” Booker wrote.
“Now comes the difficult task of financing the trip. The entry fee is $285, the flight to Texas will be around $350 and the hotel costs for the 3 days of competition and the pre-competition rules meeting will be $900. I simply cannot afford it on my limited Planet Fitness Coach budget. Winning this competition will open huge doors for my career both as an athlete and as a coach. “
Strongman said he attempted to contact Booker, “but no response was received.” On Monday, Booker posted a video on Instagram thanking many people for their help in what was originally a victory.
A stack of weights in the warm-up room during a weightlifting event. (Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Booker’s TikTok bio states that Booker, 28, is the “world’s strongest lesbian.” In a January post, Booker wrote, “No, I’m not a man.”
Booker’s first Instagram post was a photo posing at a Planet Fitness on July 31, 2022.
