Female weightlifters open up about unknowingly facing a trans athlete

Weightlifters Hailey Sikman and Jade Dickens thought they were competing in a regular World’s Strongest Woman championship last weekend. Instead, they witnessed the latest controversy over trans athletes in the country unfold up close.

Transgender athlete Jammie Booker won first place in the women’s heavyweight, edging out competitor Andrea Thompson by one point. However, once knowledge of Booker’s biological sex emerged and sparked a viral controversy, Officer Strongman revised the results to give Thompson first place.

Sikman and Dickens told Pak Gazette Digital that they were unaware of Booker’s biological sex until after the competition.

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“Unfortunately, Jammie Booker got the better of Andrea Thompson right at the end. And the promoters didn’t find out to any of the athletes until after the awards ceremony and after everyone had left, that Jammie Booker is actually Jeffrey Booker, and he is a man,” Dickens said.

“I was beyond angry… If I had known, I definitely would have done something about it, I would have personally done something about it before the event was over. But no one knew, no one knew he was a man.”

Dickens said he believes the organization would have removed Booker from the competition if they had known the athlete’s birth sex.

“If they had the knowledge, they would have taken care of it before the competition even started,” Dickens said.

Sikman also claimed that he did not learn of Booker’s biological sex until after the competition was over. Still, Sikman had his suspicions about Booker based on the athlete’s appearance.

“He definitely misled and manipulated a situation,” Sikman said.

During the competition, Sikman also claimed that he attempted to interact with the trans athlete, believing Booker was a woman.

THE COMPETITOR OF ‘THE STRONGEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD’ SPEAKS AFTER WINNING THE TITLE AFTER THE TRANS CONTROVERSY

“I tried to talk to him and he just rejected me,” Sikman added.

Dickens said of Booker’s behavior during the event: “I didn’t speak to him personally…he was actually quite quiet…In my opinion, the reason he didn’t talk much was because his voice would have revealed that he was a man.”

Sikman said he spoke to other competitors who recalled Booker’s behavior over the weekend.

“A lot of other women were saying I was just being arrogant and talking shit,” Sikman said.

Dickens also recalled what he heard from other competitors about Booker’s conduct, saying, “In that atmosphere of competition, everyone is doing a little digging… [trash talking] It happens, it happens in all sports.”

On Monday, Booker posted a video on Instagram thanking numerous people for their help in what was originally a victory.

A YouTube video from what appears to be Booker’s own channel, dating back to 2017, shows Booker claiming to be “trans”. According Strongman ArchivesBooker had not competed in women’s events before last June. It is unclear if Booker had previously competed as a man.

Official Strongman announced that Booker would be “disqualified.” Strongman said he had attempted to contact Booker, “but no response has been received.”

However, Sikman hopes to see stricter measures to prevent men from sneaking into women’s competitions in the future, and says he hopes Officer Strong can employ “genetic testing or some kind of vetting process.”

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Meanwhile, Dickens, who said she has been an advocate for protecting women’s sports since 2018 because she has had to watch men compete in her weightlifting federation in the past, hopes the public will wake up to this issue.

“People keep saying this isn’t a problem, it doesn’t happen that often, it’s going to go away,” Dickens said. “Where is our trust? This just breaks the fabric of femininity… we want to trust everyone around us, and when men come in and deceitfully try to take what is rightfully a woman’s, it erodes trust in that woman.”