A woman who was abducted as a teenager has since taken first place in her category at a bodybuilding event.
Elizabeth Smart, now 38, was just 14 when someone broke into her family home in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 5, 2002, and forced her out at knifepoint.
Her story was later revisited in the Netflix documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, which examines the nine months she was held by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.
Mitchell was ultimately sentenced to life in prison, while Barzee received a 15-year prison term.
Smart has since built a public platform, including launching a YouTube channel, and has dedicated much of her work to helping protect children from abuse.
Away from that advocacy, she has also embraced a very different pursuit: bodybuilding.
And she’s already seeing results, taking first in her category at a Salt Lake City contest held April 17 and 18.
In a post reflecting on the experience, Smart explained that pushing herself in this way has played an important role in her own healing, and that she doesn’t want her life defined by a single chapter.
She wrote:
“It struck me how eerily familiar these feelings and thoughts are for too many survivors.
“I think it’s easy to be labeled as one thing, and honestly, that’s not me nor do I think it’s any of us we are more than just one topic, one idea, one label.”
She also described how taking up bodybuilding required her to step far outside her comfort zone.
She said it was:
‘a big change for me, it was hard, it pushed me, challenged me not to give up. I am so proud of myself for doing this’.
Smart went on to say the work has been worthwhile, explaining that she’s reached a point where she feels proud of her body and wants to celebrate what it has carried her through.
She wrote:
“I am so proud of my body, and I want to celebrate it. 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.”
She added:
“I refuse to feel embarrassed about trying something new and am embracing my chance at life to the absolute fullest I can.
“I only hope that we all find the courage to chase new experiences, goals, bettering ourselves, and most importantly happiness.”