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An English competitor honored as the planet's most powerful female claims she was robbed of her winning moment after it was revealed the initial winner was a trans female who was not qualified to compete.

The British strongwoman was granted the title after the fact after American athlete Jammie Booker was disqualified.

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

"I felt very frustrated 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 female athletes.

"The competitor that finished 11th was denied the chance to compete in the final day... to achieve the top 10 status in the world."

Event coordinators, the competition body, stated "participants could only compete in the division for their biological sex registered at birth", and that they had disqualified the athlete in dispute "who was biologically male."

Event Background

Records show the disqualified athlete participated in at least two other female strength events this season - taking first place at the Rainier Classic in summer and finishing second at North America's Strongest Woman in mid-summer.

Journalists were unable to contact the athlete and the organization said "an attempt had been made to get in touch with the athlete... but a reply had not been received."

The champion, 43, eventually was declared the global female strength champion for the second occasion, having previously claimed the championship in 2018.

But it was only after this year's event finished that she learned her rival had been not qualified to participate.

"There was no indication at all during the event - nobody had any reason to question any issues," said the parent from East Anglia.

"It happened about several hours after that the initial speculation started circulating, and then the organisers contacted me.

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

Event Details

Strength contests have no unified regulatory authority, rather, independent groups organize a range of competitions.

The Global Female Strength championship is presented at the International Strength Competition, run by a British company.

More than 400 athletes from approximately forty countries participated in this year's competition, which organisers describe as "among the pinnacles of the power sports community."

The Games included events across various sex, weight and years classifications.

The British athlete and the American competitor were in the Women's Open category and participated in six events over three days, including the overhead press, timber frame carry and deadlift ladder.

Regulations and Qualifications

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

"It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who currently self-identifies as a woman competed in the Women's Open division... officials were unaware of this fact ahead of the event."

In 2023, the state enacted a law prohibiting "males by birth from competing against women competitors", although this is limited to college and university sport in the state.

Thompson believes female strength competitions may introduce gender verification in the coming years.

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

Broader Sports Landscape

In recent years, a growing number of athletic organizations have prohibited athletes who have gone through male puberty from participating in elite women's events, amid concerns over equity and protection, including international swimming and athletics organizations.

In spring, prominent British sports bodies were among a number of associations to follow suit, after the Britain's highest court's ruling that the official classification of a woman is based on biological sex.

The moves have been opposed by trans rights activists, who contend they could violate individual freedoms and insist participation should be prioritised.

Both global track and field and pugilism bodies introduced genetic sex screening this season, asserting it is necessary to safeguard the fairness of female sports.

An official from the global track organization has stated that between fifty to sixty competitors who experienced puberty as males have been top placers in the women's division in global and continental athletics competitions since the year two thousand.