Elizabeth Smart Says First Bodybuilding Competition Was Terrifying

elizabeth smart said her first bodybuilding competition was “absolutely terrifying,” after she began competing in bodybuilding shows and posted a stage photo on Tuesday, April 21. The move gave a visible new outlet to someone already known for advocacy, and it came with a result: she said she placed first in her category.

April 21 Stage Photo

Smart wrote on Instagram that people likely were shocked to see her standing on stage in a bikini, and said she would have answered “absolutely not! Never in 100 years!” if asked a couple of years ago whether she would ever enter a bodybuilding show. She also said she did not think she wore a bikini until her honeymoon, a line that makes the shift feel even more abrupt.

On May 4, she told Gayle King that she had been training for marathons for awhile when her knees began to bother her. A trainer who is now her coach reached out and asked whether she would be interested in working out together again, and Smart said she wanted a goal that would motivate her.

Gayle King Interview

“It was terrifying,” Smart said of her debut, before adding, “It was absolutely terrifying.” She said she was shaking on stage and that her ring got stuck in her hair, forcing her to rip it out. Those details turn the image of a polished stage appearance into something far more fragile.

Smart said bodybuilding felt like “a celebration of my body” because it had carried her through “every worst day” and “every bad experience.” She connected that directly to the people she has met in her line of work, saying many victims of sexual abuse and violence struggle with body betrayal, self-harm, eating disorders, and self-loathing.

First in Her Category

“And I’m very proud of myself,” Smart said, adding that she feels liberated because she can be more than just one thing. She said she can be “a bodybuilder,” feel “beautiful or sexy,” and still be an advocate for women and children against sexual violence.

That is the real story here: the debut was frightening, but Smart still moved from marathon training to a bodybuilding stage and came away with a first-place finish in her category. For readers, the next point is not whether she can pose once; it is that she has already shown she can turn a deeply personal test into another public platform.