A former World’s Strongest Man champion has announced his intentions to compete in the women’s contest next year as a form of protest against a transgender athlete’s recent victory in the competition.

Mitchell Hooper, 30, who was crowned the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, expressed his dissatisfaction to the Daily Mail regarding transgender athlete Jammie Booker’s win over biological women last week.

“If the situation remains unchanged, I am fully committed to participating in the World’s Strongest Woman competition next year,” Hooper declared.

The Canadian strongman emphasized that while he hopes it won’t come to that, he is ready to follow through with his plan if event officials do not implement a ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s categories.

“It’s not possible to support both women in sports and transgender women in women’s sports,” Hooper argued.

He further stated, “There should be a blanket ban on transgender women in all women’s sports, particularly because their advantage is especially pronounced in strength-based competitions.”

The controversy has rocked the Women’s Strongest Man contest, held last week in Arlington, Texas, with Booker’s victory bringing a wave of scrutiny on the competition. 

Footage showed runner-up Andrea Thompson appearing to say ‘this is bulls***’ as she shared a podium with Booker, while social media erupted at the result.

2023 World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper, 30, vowed to enter the women’s contest next year to protest a transgender athlete who controversially won the top title

Hooper said he was outraged that transgender competitor Jammie Booker (pictured) took home the World’s Strongest Woman title over biological women 

Hooper went to Arlington to watch the Women’s Strongest Man event in person and said he felt sorry for Thompson. 

‘If I was her, I would’ve been very loud about my complaints,’ he said. 

Asked how he feels organizers could determine an athlete’s gender, Hooper pointed out that in many elite sports competitors are made to urinate in front of officials for drug testing purposes, and he felt a similar system could work in strongman. 

‘The backlash shouldn’t necessarily be on Booker, this is only her third ever competition and she may not have known she did anything wrong – but the situation has to be rectified going forward,’ he added. 

Hooper also took to YouTube to share his thoughts on Booker’s win to his half a million subscribers and said he initially did not realize Booker is transgender when she was dominating the event. 

‘The first time I saw Jammie, I said, “This woman looks different”,’ Hooper recalled. ‘She was probably three to four inches taller, and probably 80lbs heavier than her closest competitor.’ 

Hooper stands at 6ft 3inches and weights over 330lbs. He said he initially thought it was ‘so cool’ to see a female athlete ‘even bigger than me’ until he realized Booker is transgender. 

‘I have met several NFL players with smaller frames than Jammie,’ he said. ‘It raises a really big concern, because there is an obvious physical advantage.

‘Whatever you want to be you want to be, but there is a time when you have to take a stand for women’s sports.’

Footage showed runner-up Andrea Thompson (left) appearing to say ‘this is bulls***’ as she shared a podium with Booker at the World’s Strongest Woman event last week 

Hooper stands at 6ft 3inches and weights over 330lbs, and said when he first saw Booker he thought it was ‘so cool’ to see a female athlete ‘even bigger than me’ – until he realized she is transgender 

Booker’s victory ignited social media, with many arguing she has a clear physical advantage over biological women 

Booker was accused of misrepresenting her gender status before the contest, and she was subsequently dropped as a sponsored athlete by fitness brand Iron Ape despite taking the title. 

In a Facebook post, the brand said it was unaware of Booker’s gender identity before the contest, and ‘upon further investigation, we have reason to believe (she) misrepresented critical information.’ 

Iron Ape wrote that it believes Booker holds an ‘unfair advantage over other competitors’ in the women’s division. 

‘This is not a matter of Jammie’s gender identity,’ Iron Ape owner Colton Cross said in the post. 

‘Iron Ape does not, and never will, discriminate against individuals based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic. 

‘We expect every Iron Ape athlete to uphold the highest standards of sportsmanship. When those standards are violated, decisive action must be taken.’ 

Rebecca Roberts, a three-time winner of World’s Strongest Woman, has sensationally claimed that no one – not even the organizers – knew about Booker’s background. 

Hooper also took to YouTube to share his thoughts on Booker’s win to his half a million subscribers, where he said the ‘clear advantages’ Booker possesses made the contest unfair 

Details on the American are murky but in a 2017 YouTube video, Booker says: ‘Everyone is dying to tell their own story and I am obviously no exception to that.

‘I’m 21 year-old trans woman with a history of abuse, struggling to stay true to herself while under the rule of her religious parents.’

On Monday night, Roberts posted a picture on Instagram which read ‘Protect Women’s Sports.’ 

She wrote alongside the picture: ‘I hold no hate toward transgender people. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to live their truth.

‘But I cannot stay silent about something that threatens the fairness and future of women’s strength sports. Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category.

‘This isn’t about identity. It isn’t about politics. It’s about the undeniable physical differences that exist in strength-based sports… differences that don’t disappear, and that matter more here than almost anywhere else. Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.

‘What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organizers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.

‘My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.

‘I love this sport. I have given my life to it. And I won’t ignore something that could quietly change it forever. Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true Worlds Strongest Woman 2025’

Thompson was among those to like the post. Her coach Laurence Shahlaei, meanwhile, also took to social media to express his opposition to the official results.

‘A huge congratulations to my client but more importantly, my very good friend @andreathompson_strongwoman for winning the World’s Strongest Woman 2025,’ he wrote.

‘You worked your a** off for this and I’m so proud of you. You absolutely dominated the deadlift, log and circus dumbbell and while there are still a couple of weaknesses to work on, you were still the strongest woman on the day.

‘This win hasn’t come without controversy, but I want to make it very clear that while I support and applaud people for being who they want to be, sport is sport and the women’s classes exist for a reason.’ 

The Daily Mail has contacted Booker and the World’s Strongest Man organization for comment.