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A British competitor crowned the world's strongest woman claims she was robbed of her victory celebration after it was revealed the initial winner was a trans female who was not qualified to compete.

The British strongwoman was awarded the championship after the fact after American athlete Jammie Booker was disqualified.

Thompson explained to athletic press the competition, held in Arlington, Texas, was overshadowed by somebody who wasn't eligible to participate.

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

"The lady that came 11th was denied the chance to do the final day... to have the elite ranking 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 athlete in dispute "who is biologically male."

Event Details

Records indicate the disqualified athlete participated in at least several additional strongwoman events this year - winning the Rainier Classic in summer and finishing second at North America's Strongest Woman in July.

Sports media were unable to reach the athlete and the organization said "efforts had been made to contact the competitor... but a response had not been received."

Thompson, 43, eventually became the global female strength champion for the second occasion, having previously won the championship in 2018.

But it was only following this season's competition concluded that she learned her rival had been ineligible to participate.

"There was no indication at all during the event - no-one had any cause to question anything," said the mother of two from East Anglia.

"It happened about six hours after that the first rumours started circulating, and then the organisers notified me.

"It represents a significant accomplishment that's been marred by some dishonesty."

Event Details

Power competitions have no unified governing body, rather, independent groups organize a variety of events.

The Global Female Strength championship is awarded at the Official Strongman Games, organized by a British organization.

More than four hundred competitors from approximately 40 nations took part in this season's event, which organisers characterize as "among the highest points of the power sports community."

The Competition featured contests across various gender, weight and age categories.

The British athlete and the American competitor were in the Women's Open division and competed in half-dozen events over three days, including the log press, frame carrying and deadlift ladder.

Regulations and Eligibility

A statement from event officials said: "Competitors are placed to male or female divisions based on whether they are registered as man or woman at birth.

"It appears that an competitor who is biologically male and who currently self-identifies as a woman participated in the Women's Open category... organizers were unaware of this fact ahead of the event."

In twenty twenty-three, the state enacted a regulation banning "males by birth from competing against women competitors", although this is limited to higher education sport in the state.

The champion believes strongwoman events may introduce gender verification in the future.

"I suppose it's going to have to proceed along that route... but our sport is still relatively recent. There's insufficient funding in it to have these things in operation. We rely on the honesty of the competitors."

Wider Athletic Context

In the past few seasons, a increasing quantity of athletic organizations have barred athletes who have gone through puberty as males from competing in top-level women's events, amid apprehensions over equity and safety, including global aquatics and track and field bodies.

In spring, major British athletic organizations were among a group of associations to follow suit, after the UK Supreme Court's decision that the official classification of a female is based on birth sex.

The decisions have been opposed by trans rights campaigners, who contend they could violate individual freedoms and insist inclusion should be prioritised.

Both international athletics and pugilism bodies introduced genetic sex screening this year, claiming it is necessary to safeguard the integrity of female sports.

A representative from international athletics has claimed that between 50 and 60 competitors who went through male puberty have been top placers in the female category in international and regional athletics competitions since 2000.