Elizabeth Smart Places at Bottom of Bodybuilding Competition but Says She ‘Loved the Whole Experience’

“Regardless of where I placed, I loved the whole experience,” the child safety advocate wrote on social media

NEED TO KNOW

• Elizabeth Smart celebrated her accomplishments after placing at the bottom of her latest bodybuilding competition
• “I’m so proud of myself for the hard work, discipline and bravery it takes me to compete,” she wrote on social media on Sept. 5
• The child safety advocate previously said that bodybuilding and stepping onstage in a bikini “felt like the most vulnerable thing I could possibly do”

Elizabeth Smart is proud of her bodybuilding accomplishments, regardless of where she finishes in competitions.

After competing in the North American Championships in Pittsburgh, the 38-year-old child safety advocate reflected on why participating in the event was a cause for celebration. 

“Another show for the books! Had such a blast,” she wrote on Instagram on Saturday, Sept. 5, alongside a video of herself posing onstage at the competition. “I’ve always said ‘just stepping on stage is a win for me!’ And I completely stand by that.”

During the bodybuilding competition, Smart competed in two classes — a Masters 35+ class, which requires competitors to be 35 or older, and Open Class D, a height-based class — according to her post.

“I placed at the bottom of both classes,” she continued. “Regardless of where I placed, I loved the whole experience, had an amazing coach (@slcrobynmaher), got to step onstage with my best friend (@mpholsombake), and had the best support squad in the audience I could ask for.”

Although she placed at the bottom, Smart emphasized how gratified she was to have “brought a better physique and stage presence than at my previous shows.”

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“I’m so proud of myself for the hard work, discipline and bravery it takes me to compete,” she wrote. “So here’s to pursuing goals and not giving up!”

Earlier this year, Smart took first place in the Fit Model Novice Category at the Wasatch Warrior bodybuilding and fitness competition. She also took second place in the Fit Model category and ranked third in Fit Model Masters 35+.

While posting a photo from the competition in April, the sexual assault survivor admitted, “I was too afraid to post it before. 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.”

During her nine-month-long abduction at age 14, Smart was subjected to daily rapes and endured physical abuse and starvation before being found by authorities and reunited with her family in March 2003. 

“It struck me how eerily familiar these feelings and thoughts are for too many survivors,” she continued at the time. “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.”

As she continued her bodybuilding journey, Smart shared that she found competing to be both rewarding and “absolutely terrifying.”

“I grew up always just being so modest,” she said during a May appearance on CBS Mornings. “I don’t think I wore a bikini until I was on my honeymoon. So stepping up onstage in a bikini felt like the most vulnerable thing I could possibly do.”

“In my line of work, I have met so many victims of sexual abuse and violence who feel like their body betrayed them,” she added. “And we see a lot of self-harm, eating disorders, feelings of self-loathing, loathing their body. For me, doing this, I feel like it has been a celebration of my body because it has carried me through every worst day, every bad experience.”

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