Transgender Athlete Was Very Dishonest, Says Globe's Strongest Female
The American competitor was disqualified from the global female strength competition
An English competitor crowned the world's strongest woman says she was deprived of her winning moment after it was revealed the original champion was a transgender woman who was ineligible to compete.
Andrea Thompson was awarded the title retrospectively after American athlete Jammie Booker was disqualified.
The champion explained to athletic press the event, held in the Texas city of Arlington, was overshadowed by somebody who wasn't eligible to participate.
"I felt very disappointed and angry with her actions," she stated. "She was untruthful and was very deceptive, and took away a lot of things from a lot of female athletes.
"The lady that came 11th was denied the opportunity to compete in the final day... to achieve the top 10 status in the world."
Organisers, the strongman organization, said "competitors could only compete in the division for their birth sex recorded at birth", and that they had eliminated the competitor in question "who was biologically male."
Competition Background
Documentation indicate the disqualified athlete took part in at least two other strongwoman events this year - winning the Washington competition in summer and placing runner-up at the continental championship in mid-summer.
Journalists were unable to contact Booker and the organization said "efforts had been made to contact the athlete... but a reply had not been obtained."
The British athlete had initially finished runner-up to the American athlete
Thompson, 43, ultimately became the world's strongest woman for the second time, having previously won the championship in 2018.
But it was only following this season's competition finished that she learned her rival had been ineligible to compete.
"There was no indication at all during the competition - no-one had any reason to question any issues," said the mother of two from East Anglia.
"It happened about several hours after that the initial speculation started circulating, and then the organisers notified me.
"It represents a massive accomplishment that's been marred by some deception."
Competition Details
Power competitions have no unified regulatory authority, rather, independent groups organize a variety of competitions.
The World's Strongest Woman championship is presented at the Official Strongman Games, run by a UK-registered company.
More than 400 athletes from nearly forty nations participated in this season's event, which coordinators describe as "among the pinnacles of the strength world."
The Games included events across various gender, weight and years classifications.
Thompson and Booker were in the Female Open division and participated in half-dozen disciplines over multiple days, including the log press, timber frame carry and progressive deadlift.
Regulations and Eligibility
An announcement from event officials stated: "Competitors are placed to men's or women's categories based on whether they are registered as male or female at birth.
"Evidence suggests that an competitor who is biologically male and who now identifies as female competed in the Women's Open division... organizers were not informed of this fact prior to the event."
In 2023, the state enacted a law banning "males by birth from participating with female athletes", although this only applies to higher education sport in the region.
Thompson believes strongwoman competitions may implement gender verification in the future.
"I suppose it's going to have to proceed along that path... but our discipline is still quite new. There's not enough money in it to have these things in operation. We rely on the integrity of the athletes."
Broader Sports Landscape
In recent years, a growing quantity of sports federations have prohibited competitors who have experienced male puberty from participating in elite female competition, amid apprehensions over fairness and protection, including global aquatics and track and field bodies.
In May, major British sports bodies were among a group of institutions to follow suit, after the Britain's highest court's ruling that the legal definition of a female is based on birth sex.
The decisions have been opposed by trans rights campaigners, who argue they could infringe upon individual freedoms and insist inclusion should be emphasized.
Both international athletics and boxing bodies introduced genetic sex screening this year, asserting it is necessary to safeguard the integrity of female sports.
A representative from international athletics has claimed that between 50 and 60 athletes who went through male puberty have been top placers in the women's division in international and regional track and field competitions since the year two thousand.
