The American competitor faced disqualification from the global female strength competition
An English athlete crowned the planet's most powerful female says she was robbed of her winning moment after it emerged the original champion was a transgender woman who was not qualified to compete.
The British strongwoman was granted the title after the fact after US competitor Jammie Booker was disqualified.
Thompson explained to sports media the event, held in the Texas city of Arlington, was overshadowed by an individual who shouldn't have been there.
"I felt extremely disappointed and angry 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 competitor that came 11th was denied the chance to compete in the final day... to achieve the top 10 status in the world."
Organisers, the competition body, stated "participants could only participate in the division for their birth sex recorded at birth", and that they had disqualified the athlete in dispute "who is biologically male."
Competition Details
Documentation show Booker participated in at least several additional strongwoman events this year - winning the Rainier Classic in summer and finishing second at the continental championship in July.
Sports media could not contact Booker and event officials said "efforts had been made to get in touch with the competitor... but a reply had not been received."
The British athlete had originally placed runner-up to the American athlete
Thompson, 43, eventually became the global female strength champion for the second time, having previously won the title in 2018.
But it was only after this year's event concluded that she discovered her opponent had been not qualified to compete.
"There was nothing at all during the competition - no-one had any cause to question anything," said the parent from Suffolk.
"It happened about several hours after that the first rumours started circulating, and then the organisers contacted me.
"It's a massive accomplishment that's been marred by some deception."
Event Particulars
Strength contests have no single governing body, rather, independent groups run a variety of competitions.
The Global Female Strength championship is presented at the Official Strongman Games, organized by a UK-registered company.
Over four hundred athletes from approximately forty countries took part in this year's event, which organisers describe as "among the pinnacles of the power sports community."
The Games included events across various sex, body mass and years categories.
The British athlete and Booker were in the Women's Open category and competed in six events over multiple days, including the log press, timber frame carry and deadlift ladder.
Regulations and Qualifications
A statement from event officials stated: "Competitors are placed to male or female divisions based on whether they are recorded as man or female 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 division... organizers were not informed of this fact ahead of the event."
In 2023, Texas introduced a regulation banning "biological men from competing against women competitors", although this is limited to college and university athletics in the state.
The champion thinks female strength events may introduce gender verification in the coming years.
"I guess it's going to have to go down that route... but our sport is still relatively recent. There's insufficient funding in it to have these things in place. We depend on the integrity of the competitors."
Broader Sports Context
In recent years, a increasing number of athletic organizations have barred athletes who have experienced male puberty from competing in top-level women's events, amid concerns over fairness and protection, including global aquatics and track and field bodies.
In spring, major British athletic organizations were among a number of associations to implement similar policies, after the Britain's highest court's decision that the official classification of a woman is based on birth sex.
The decisions have been opposed by trans rights activists, who contend they could infringe upon human rights and maintain inclusion should be emphasized.
Both international athletics and pugilism bodies introduced chromosomal testing this year, claiming it is needed to protect the integrity of women's competition.
An official from international athletics has claimed that between fifty to sixty competitors who experienced male puberty have been finalists in the women's division in global and continental track and field competitions since 2000.