World's Strongest Woman winner stripped of title as organisers claim athlete was 'biologically male'

An Australian strongwoman has been dramatically promoted to second at the world championships after the winning athlete was stripped of the title because of claims she was "biologically male".

Aussie Allira-Joy Cowley has been classified second in the Women's Open at the Official Strongman Games World Championship following last weekend's event in Texas, having originally been awarded third.

The Australian was upgraded to second after American Jammie Booker was stripped of the Women's Open title following the conclusion of the championships.

Booker narrowly defeated Britain's Andrea Thompson for the crown in Texas before organisers released a statement declaring that Booker had been stripped of the title and disqualified from the competition.

Official Strongman organisers said in a statement that they would not have permitted Booker to participate in the Women's Open category if they had known the athlete had been born "biologically male", a claim which is yet to be proven, while no evidence has been submitted to confirm the claim.

"It appears that an athlete who is biologically male and who now identifies as female competed in the Women's Open category," the statement read.

"Official Strongman officials were unaware of this fact ahead of the competition and we have been urgently investigating since being informed. An attempt has been made to contact the competitor involved but a response has not been received.

"Had we been aware, or had this been declared at any point before or during the competition, this athlete would not have been permitted to compete in the Women's Open category."

Official Strongman said the sport was inclusive, but stated it had clear rules that stipulated athletes must "compete in the category for the biological sex recorded at birth".

"Official Strongman is inclusive and proud to run events which do not discriminate against athletes based on personal characteristics," the statement read.

"Any athlete is welcome. But it is our responsibility to ensure fairness and ensure athletes are assigned to men or women's categories based on whether they are recorded as male or female at birth."

Cowley posted photos of her holding the third-place trophy and asked her online followers to "pretend it's silver".

"I didn't expect this podium. I stood beside some of the strongest women in the world and felt completely overwhelmed in the best way," she wrote.

"Representing Australia on the world stage, solidifying my Australia's Strongest Title and seeing the Top 3 Aussies all finish inside the Top 10 proves that Aussie Strongwomen are absolutely holding our own."

Thompson, now the world champion, described the previous few days as "the most exhausting experience of my career".

The British athlete said the fallout from the competition had led to competitors being targeted and insulted.

Booker is yet to respond to any of the claims.