Updated Sept. 6, 2026, 9:41 p.m. ET
Elizabeth Smart knows that win or lose, it’s how you play the game that counts.
The child safety advocate, who began a bodybuilding career in recent months, reflected on her loss at a competition in an Instagram post Saturday, Sept. 5.
Smart, 38, competed in the National Physique Committee’s North American Championships, which took place in Pittsburgh from Wednesday, Sept. 2 through Saturday, Sept. 5.
“Another show for the books! Had such a blast,” Smart wrote alongside a video of herself posing onstage in a blue bikini and high heels. “I’ve always said ‘just stepping onstage is a win for me!’ And I completely stand by that.”
Smart shared that she competed in two divisions, “Masters 35+” for bodybuilders 35 or older and the height-based “Open Class D.” The social activist said she “placed at the bottom of both classes.”
“Regardless of where I placed, I loved the whole experience, had an amazing coach [Robyn Maher], got to step onstage with my best friend [Mackenzie Paralee Holsombake] and had the best support squad in the audience I could ask for,” Smart wrote.
“I brought a better physique and stage presence than at my previous shows, and I’m so proud of myself for the hard work, discipline and bravery it takes me to compete. So, here’s to pursuing goals and not giving up!”
The loss comes five months after Smart won first place in the Fit Model Novice category at the Wasatch Warrior competition in Salt Lake City, Utah. The event marked Smart’s fourth bodybuilding competition.
“This was a big change for me,” Smart wrote in an April 21 Instagram post. “It was hard. It pushed me, challenged me not to give up. I am so proud of myself for doing this.”
Smart’s kidnapping case is one of the most publicized in American history. At 14, she was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah, home in June 2002. She spent nine “harrowing” months in captivity, where she was sexually abused by Brian David Mitchell – a man her family previously hired to do “odd jobs” – before she was rescued. Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, his then-wife and accomplice, were captured by law enforcement shortly after.
Smart opened up about her bodybuilding journey in a May interview on “CBS Mornings.” The children’s rights advocate said she’d been training for marathons for a while when her knees began to bother her. A former trainer reached out to her and asked if she’d be interested in working out together again, which inspired Smart to try bodybuilding.
“It was terrifying,” Smart told “CBS Mornings” host Gayle King. “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.”
Despite her initial nerves, Smart said participating in the sport has taken on a symbolic meaning, as she connects it to her healing as a sexual assault survivor.
“In my line of work, I’ve met so many victims of sexual abuse and violence who feel like their body betrayed them, and we see a lot of self-harm, eating disorders, feelings of self-loathing,” Smart said. “And 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.”
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman and David Oliver, USA TODAY
