The winner of the World’s Strongest Woman competition has been stripped of her title after organizers claimed the hulking American never told them she was born a man.
Jammie Booker was disqualified just days after she destroyed the competition at the Official Strongman Games World Championship in Arlington, Texas over the weekend.
Organizers said Booker, from Philadelphia, violated the contest’s rules, which clearly stipulate that athletes must compete in the category that aligns with their biological sex at birth.
“It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who now identifies as female competed in the Women’s Open category,” organizers said in a social media statement announcing the decision.
“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 Woman’s Open category,” they added.
The move comes after the runner-up, UK lifter Andrea Thompson, was filmed storming off the podium as she raged about the “bulls–t” decision to award the title to Booker.
Thompson is now the winner, which many online supporters had called her all along.
Organizers said the places will now be altered accordingly in the wake of Booker’s disqualification.
“Official Strongman is inclusive and proud to run events which do not discriminate against athletes based on personal characteristics. Any athlete is welcome. But it is our responsibility to ensure fairness and ensure athletes are assigned to men or women’s categories based on whether they are recorded as male or female at birth.”
Three-time champ, Rebecca Roberts, led the backlash – quickly claiming that no one was aware of Booker’s gender at birth.
“Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category,” she said in a statement prior to Booker being stripped of the title.
“What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organizers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.”
“My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only,” she added.
Booker, meanwhile, hasn’t publicly addressed her disqualification. Organizers said attempts to reach her in the wake of the contest had failed.