Organizers of the competition have discovered that American athlete Jammie Booker was born male.
Jammie Booker, the victor of the 2025 World’s Strongest Woman competition, has been divested of the title after event organizers learned the athlete was born male. This ruling represents the most recent in an escalating series of controversies regarding biological males participating in women’s sports.
The situation came to light at the Cerberus Strength Official Strongman Games in Texas this past weekend, where Booker, a Philadelphia-based competitor, triumphed in the Women’s Open category. Organizers indicated they were unaware prior to the event that the athlete was biologically male.
“Given this, we have disqualified the athlete in question,” Official Strongman announced via a social media statement, further explaining their obligation to “ensure fairness” by categorizing athletes into men’s or women’s divisions based on their sex at birth. The definitive results have since been revised to name Andrea Thompson of the UK as the champion.
The engagement of transgender athletes in athletic competitions has become a rising point of contention. In July, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee prohibited transgender women from participating in women’s Olympic events, in accordance with a mandate issued by President Donald Trump. This order bars transgender females from women’s teams and jeopardizes federal funding for institutions that disregard the policy.
Instances involving American swimmer Lia Thomas and New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard have intensified discussions concerning whether transgender participants retain competitive advantages over biological females. This ongoing debate exists even though the International Olympic Committee stated in 2021 that there should be “no presumption of advantage” and subsequently transferred eligibility decisions to individual federations.
The topic re-emerged at the 2024 Paris Olympics when Algerian boxer Imane Khelif – who had previously been declared ineligible for the World Championships based on gender criteria – claimed a gold medal. This occurrence prompted former IOC President Thomas Bach to contend that there is “no scientifically solid system” available to differentiate between men and women in sports.
The IOC is now expected to prohibit transgender women from female categories at the Olympics, under a forthcoming eligibility policy anticipated next year, as reported by The Times earlier this month, citing various sources. This revision is reportedly founded on a scientific review that concluded the physical advantages linked with male puberty can persist even after testosterone levels are medically decreased.