Elizabeth Smart wins first place at Salt Lake City bodybuilding competition

Elizabeth Smart is proving she can conquer another challenge after new photos shared by the kidnapping survivor show her taking up a powerful new hobby: Bodybuilding. 

The now-38-year-old Smart, whose harrowing kidnapping story captivated the nation, announced her latest endeavor on Instagram over the weekend with a photo showing off her impressive physique.

“When I posted the pictures in my [Instagram] story of me standing on stage in a bikini it probably shocked many of you,” Smart wrote. “And I understand the shock because had you asked me if I would ever compete in a bodybuilding show a couple of years ago I would have said, ‘Absolutely not! Never in 100 years!’”

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Smart participated alongside hundreds of amateur athletes at the Wasatch Warrior Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, and competed in the entry-level Fit Model Division.

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She secured first place in the competition’s novice category, second in Class D and third in the Masters 35+ category, according to the tournament’s website. 

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“I am so proud of my body, and I want to celebrate it,” Smart added. “My body has carried me through every worst day, every hellish grueling experience, it’s created and nurtured three beautiful children, my body has risen to every single challenge life has presented it with and carried me through so I refuse to be ashamed of it.”

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Smart was just 14 years old when she was abducted from her family’s Salt Lake City home in 2002. 

Investigators subsequently learned she had been kidnapped at knifepoint and taken from her bedroom by Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Breeze.

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Smart was held captive by the pair for nine months, moving between campsites in the Utah foothills and later to California while being raped daily by Mitchell. 

In March 2003, authorities located Smart in Sandy, Utah after witnesses recognized Mitchell and Barzee from media coverage in the case.

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Mitchell was later convicted in federal court and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Barzee ultimately pleaded guilty to her role in Smart’s abduction and was released from prison in 2018, but was arrested a second time in May 2025 after violating the terms of her sex offender status by visiting a public park, according to FOX 11.

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Smart’s competition marked one year since her first time taking the stage at the same tournament. Throughout the past year, she has reportedly competed at the NPC Heart of Texas and moved on to the national stage at the NPC Masters USA in Las Vegas in pursuit of an IFBB Pro card.

“I refuse to feel embarrassed about trying something new and am embracing my chance at life to the absolute fullest I can,” Smart concluded in her post to social media. “I only hope that we all find the courage to chase new experiences, goals, bettering ourselves, and most importantly happiness.”