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 38-year-old Smart, whose harrowing kidnapping story captivated the nation, announced her latest endeavor Utah, Saturday and competed in the entry-level Fit Model Division.
She secured first place in the competition’s novice category, second in Class D and third in the Masters 35-plus category, 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 Barzee.
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.
Mitchell was later convicted in federal court and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Barzee 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, 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."