Elizabeth Smart Reclaims Her Body Through Bodybuilding
Elizabeth Smart, the kidnapping survivor who was abducted at age 14 and held captive for nine months, has taken up competitive bodybuilding as a way to reclaim her body and rebuild her confidence after trauma. At 38, Smart has competed in four bodybuilding competitions, most recently winning first place in the Fit Model Novice category at the Wasatch Warrior competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 18, 2026.
“I’m at a point in my life where I want to celebrate it,” Smart told NPR. “I don’t want to carry shame about my body.”
A Traumatic Past
In June 2002, Smart was just 14 years old when Brian David Mitchell, a self-proclaimed prophet who had previously done odd jobs for the Smart family, abducted her at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City bedroom while her younger sister slept beside her. For nine months, she was held captive in the woods near her home, subjected to repeated sexual assault, psychological manipulation, and humiliation. She was rescued in March 2003 after witnesses recognized Mitchell and his accomplice, Wanda Barzee.
Mitchell was convicted of kidnapping and is serving a life sentence. Barzee was released from prison in 2018 but rearrested in 2025 for parole violations.
After her rescue, Smart became a prominent advocate for survivors of sexual violence. She founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation in 2011 and has written books, including her memoir My Story and her latest book Detours, in which she describes trauma as an unwanted detour in life.
From Marathon Running to Bodybuilding
Smart began strength training approximately a year and a half ago after recurring knee pain forced her to stop marathon running. She now trains five to six days per week, about 45 minutes per session, and walks roughly 10,000 steps daily on an incline treadmill. She tracks her meals carefully and counts macros.
“I always need a goal and I need a deadline,” Smart said. Bodybuilding offered both.
At the Wasatch Warrior competition, Smart took home first place in the Fit Model Novice category, second place in the Fit Model category, and third place in the Fit Model Masters 35+ category. She competes in the Fit Model division under the National Physique Committee.
Smart publicly revealed her bodybuilding journey on Instagram on April 21, 2026. In her caption, she admitted she had been hesitant to share her new pursuit, writing that she was “worried that I would be judged, not taken seriously, somehow perceived as less than or now unworthy to continue work as an advocate for all survivors,” as reported by Page Six.
“Then this past weekend it struck me how eerily familiar these feelings and thoughts are for too many survivors,” she wrote.
The Therapeutic Power of Fitness
Smart’s journey highlights the therapeutic potential of physical fitness for trauma survivors. Robyn Brickel, a licensed therapist in Virginia who specializes in trauma-related disorders, explained to NPR that “when early childhood trauma happens, especially sexual trauma, people disconnect from their bodies because it’s unsafe. That’s how they survive.”
Mounting research supports the benefits of weightlifting for trauma recovery. A 2025 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that resistance training was linked to reduced PTSD symptoms and improved emotional well-being. A 2023 study in the same journal found that many trauma survivors described weightlifting as empowering, helping them rebuild confidence and regain a sense of control.
However, Brickel cautioned that exercise can also become an unhealthy coping mechanism. The key question, she said, is intention: “Am I running from something, or am I adding to my life?”
Reclaiming the Narrative
Smart’s decision to compete in a bikini on stage represents a significant departure from her conservative Mormon upbringing, where modesty and purity were heavily emphasized. She has spoken about the added layer of shame this created after her sexual abuse.
“I don’t think I wore a bikini until I was on my honeymoon,” Smart told USA Today, “so stepping up on stage in a bikini felt like the most vulnerable thing I could possibly do.”
She described the experience as liberating. “For so long, I wanted to be taken seriously,” she said. “I feel liberated because I can be more than just one thing. I can be a bodybuilder. I can feel beautiful or sexy, and I can still be an advocate for women and children against sexual violence.”
What’s Next
Smart is considering another competition later this year in Nashville — an all-female event recognizing women who have survived trauma. Her face lights up as she talks about it, not because she believes trauma disappears, but because she no longer wants survival to be the only lens through which she sees herself.
“We can be lots of things,” she said.
“There’s no finish line,” Smart added. “I hope I never stop progressing.”