Elizabeth Smart revealed on Instagram that she has taken up competitive bodybuilding, posting a stage photo from her appearance at the Wasatch Warrior show in Salt Lake City.
Smart wrote that the image may have surprised followers because a few years earlier she would have said she would never compete, and she said she had previously been too afraid to post stage photos.
She explained on Instagram that worry about being judged or being seen as less worthy to continue work as an advocate for survivors kept her from sharing earlier, and she said the decision to post grew from recognizing those same fears among many survivors.
KTVT reported Smart competed in the Fit Model division at the Wasatch Warrior event and won first place in the novice category, third place in the Masters 35 plus category, and second place in Class D, and her coach Robyn Maher said Smart "killed it" on stage.
KTTV also noted this was Smart’s fourth competition and that she has competed at NPC Heart of Texas and at the national NPC Masters USA in Las Vegas while pursuing higher competitive goals, and she is qualified to return to the national stage.
Background And Ongoing Advocacy
The articles trace why Smart’s public choices attract attention by recalling that she was abducted from her bedroom at age 14 and held in captivity for nine months, a story detailed in the Netflix documentary "Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart."
The documentary includes comments from Salt Lake City Police captain Cory Lyman and other investigators who described early scrutiny of family members, in-depth interviews, and seized devices as part of the investigation.
Richard Ricci emerged as a suspect early in the probe, and investigators later lost critical information when he died in custody, according to the documentary, which the coverage cites.
Mary Katherine Smart recalled a memory that led the family to push for public distribution of a sketch, a move that eventually produced tips identifying Brian David Mitchell, who was later recognized getting off a bus in Sandy, Utah, and stopped by police.
Sandy City Police Sgt. Victor Quezada recalled that when officers asked the young woman if she was Elizabeth Smart she answered with the words "Thou sayeth," which led to her return to family custody, the sources report.
Legal records and reporting cited in the articles show Mitchell was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole, while his co‑captor Wanda Barzee pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges, received concurrent sentences, was later released, and then faced new arrest and court conditions related to protected areas as a registered sex offender.
The coverage also notes Smart’s continued public work, including books, film production, public speaking, and survivor advocacy, and describes personal details reported in the sources such as her music degree from Brigham Young University, her harp playing, meeting husband Matthew Gilmour while on a mission in Paris, and raising three children.
