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A British athlete crowned the planet's most powerful female says she was robbed of her victory celebration after it emerged the initial winner was a transgender woman who was not qualified to compete.

Andrea Thompson was awarded the championship after the fact after American athlete the disqualified contestant was removed from competition.

The champion explained to sports media the event, held in Arlington, Texas, was clouded by an individual who wasn't eligible to participate.

"I was extremely disappointed and upset with her actions," she said. "She was untruthful and was quite dishonest, and took away a lot of things from a lot of women.

"The lady that finished 11th didn't get the opportunity to compete in the final day... to have the top 10 status in the world."

Event coordinators, the competition body, stated "competitors could only participate in the division for their birth sex recorded at birth", and that they had eliminated the competitor in dispute "who is male by birth."

Event Details

Records show Booker participated in at least several additional strongwoman events this season - winning the Washington competition in summer and placing runner-up at North America's Strongest Woman in mid-summer.

Sports media could not reach Booker and the organization confirmed "efforts had been made to get in touch with the athlete... but a reply had not been obtained."

The champion, 43, ultimately became the world's strongest woman for the second time, having previously won the championship in 2018.

But it was only after this season's competition finished that she learned her opponent had been not qualified to participate.

"There was nothing at all during the event - no-one had any cause to question anything," said the mother of two from Suffolk.

"It was about several hours after that the first rumours started going round, and then the organisers contacted me.

"It represents a significant achievement that's been overshadowed by some dishonesty."

Event Details

Strength contests have no single regulatory authority, instead, independent groups run a variety of competitions.

The World's Strongest Woman title is awarded at the Official Strongman Games, organized by a British company.

Over 400 competitors from nearly 40 nations took part in this year's competition, which coordinators characterize as "one of the pinnacles of the strength world."

The Games included contests across multiple gender, body mass and years classifications.

Thompson and Booker were in the Women's Open division and competed in six disciplines over multiple days, including the log press, timber frame carry and progressive deadlift.

Regulations and Eligibility

A statement from event officials stated: "Athletes are assigned to male or female categories based on whether they are registered as male or woman at birth.

"It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who currently self-identifies as a woman participated in the Female Open division... officials were unaware of this fact prior to the competition."

In 2023, Texas introduced a law prohibiting "males by birth from participating with female athletes", although this is limited to higher education athletics in the region.

The champion thinks strongwoman competitions may implement sex screening in the future.

"I suppose it's going to have to go down that route... but our sport is still quite new. There's not enough funding in it to have these things in operation. We rely on the integrity of the athletes."

Wider Sports Landscape

In recent years, a growing quantity of sports federations have prohibited competitors who have gone through male puberty from competing in elite female competition, amid concerns over fairness and protection, including global aquatics and athletics bodies.

In spring, prominent UK sports bodies were among a number of institutions to follow suit, after the UK Supreme Court's decision that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.

The moves have been challenged by transgender advocacy activists, who contend they could violate human rights and insist inclusion should be emphasized.

Both international athletics and pugilism organizations implemented chromosomal testing this season, claiming it is necessary to protect the integrity of female sports.

A representative from the global track organization has stated that between 50 and 60 athletes who went through male puberty have been top placers in the female category in international and regional track and field competitions since 2000.