Last weekend’s Official Strongman Games World Championship in Arlington, Texas, produced a shocking and avoidable scandal when the athlete initially crowned World’s Strongest Woman was stripped of the title after organizers discovered she was born male. The announcement, made after the event had concluded, upended the podium and reignited the long-simmering national debate over transgender participation in sex-separated sports.
Organizers said the competitor, Jammie Booker, was disqualified because she violated clear rules that require athletes to compete in the category matching the sex recorded at birth, and that officials were unaware of Booker’s history before the competition. The Official Strongman Games said they attempted to contact Booker for clarification but, after receiving no response in the allotted time, amended the results and removed her from the standings.
Runner-up Andrea Thompson — a proven veteran of the sport — was later declared the rightful champion, but the damage was already done: a victory celebration that should have crowned a hardworking woman was stolen, then awkwardly handed back after public pressure. Competitors described the scene as heartbreaking and chaotic, and Thompson herself said the episode robbed her and her fellow athletes of what should have been the sport’s proudest moment.
The revelations that led to the reversal reportedly came from resurfaced online material — including explicit content and an old video in which Booker referred to herself as a trans woman — which opponents used as proof that the athlete did not belong in the women’s open division. Organizers say the evidence prompted an urgent probe and a 24-hour response window that was never met, forcing the disqualification.
This mess exposes two uncomfortable truths conservatives have warned about for years: when eligibility rules are weak or enforcement is lax, women are sidelined and the integrity of women’s sport is sacrificed. There is nothing unkind about insisting that categories created to protect fair competition remain meaningful; honoring biological distinctions in single-sex athletics protects opportunities that took generations of women to win.
Event officials deserve criticism for not vetting entrants more thoroughly before the competition, and sports bodies must stop treating verification like a moral minefield. If organizers are serious about inclusion and fairness at the same time, they will adopt transparent, enforceable policies that prevent this kind of humiliation for female athletes and restore trust in the sport.
Sponsors, fans, and athletes alike have rightly been left stunned as the fallout unfolds — with some partners reportedly pulling back and athletes receiving abuse simply for showing up to compete fairly. The industry and governing bodies can either cling to a posture of performative openness that produces chaos, or they can implement straightforward standards that protect women and preserve the credibility of competition.
Lawmakers and sporting federations should take note: commonsense rules and clear, consistent enforcement are not bigotry, they are the foundation of fair play. Hardworking American women who train, sacrifice, and compete deserve better than last weekend’s circus; it’s time to prioritize fairness, transparency, and respect for the categories that make women’s sport possible.
