{"id":608300,"date":"2026-04-26T23:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T23:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/608300\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T23:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T23:51:15","slug":"elizabeth-smarts-bodybuilding-competitors-address-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/608300\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Smart’s Bodybuilding Competitors Address ‘Backlash’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even Elizabeth Smart<\/a>\u2019s fellow bodybuilding competitors didn\u2019t see her transformation<\/a> coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe competed in the same class. I actually had no idea it was her,\u201d participant Lila Cowdell, 23, exclusively told Us Weekly. \u201cShe held herself very tall and she\u2019s very humble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart, 38, competed in the Wasatch Warrior fitness competition on April 17 and April 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah alongside newcomer Cowdell, who took home third place and Smart second in the Fit Model D category. Smart also placed first in the Fit Model Novice category and third in Fit Model Masters 35+.<\/p>\n

Smart, who entered the competition under her married name, later revealed via Instagram<\/a> that she feared being judged as \u201cunworthy to continue work as an advocate for all survivors.\u201d (She has been married to Matthew Gilmour, with whom she shares three children, since 2012.)<\/p>\n

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\n Related: Where Is Elizabeth Smart 2 Decades After Her Abduction? Inside Her Life Now<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tElizabeth Smart has offered glimpses into her life more than two decades after her abduction and rescue. Smart was abducted from her bedroom in 2002 by Brian David Mitchell when she was only 14 years old. With help from Mitchell\u2019s wife, Wanda Barzee, Smart was held captive for nearly a year while experiencing physical, sexual [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

Smart made national headlines after being kidnapped in 2002 when she was 14 years old. During her nine months of captivity before a police rescue, Smart said she endured physical, sexual and psychological abuse.<\/p>\n

Smart has since worked as an advocate for fellow survivors of domestic violence, writing two memoirs and sharing her story in the Kidnapped documentary before beginning her bodybuilding pursuit. Smart\u2019s participation in the fitness contest subsequently raised eyebrows after she posted photos on social media, revealing her dramatic transformation.<\/p>\n

Cowdell admires her courage for sharing her fitness journey so publicly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was frustrated with the backlash she was getting online,\u201d Cowdell told Us. \u201cShe is getting quite a bit of hate and doesn\u2019t deserve to be a victim. This is a sport that people work so hard for and it takes a lot of discipline and strength for a normal person let alone someone who has gone through such trauma and pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cI applaud her for taking back her body and presenting it with such confidence. There is a lot of support for her as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: Elizabeth Smart\u2018s Trainer Shares Her Routine for Bodybuilding Competitions<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tElizabeth Smart\u2019s fitness coach, Robyn Maher, is sharing the secrets behind her bodybuilding competition success. \u201cShe followed a plan, a healthy meal plan, all this time,\u201d Maher shared in an interview with Extra published on Wednesday, April 22. \u201cAnd then weight training most days of the week. So typically, five to six days a week [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

Fellow competitor Jimmy Rex<\/a> was also in awe of Smart taking the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought it was really cool,\u201d Rex told Us in a separate interview. \u201cI met her once, like, a year after her rescue at a game night in Provo, [Utah] years ago. I just thought it was really cool, and I know how much like doing the show helps you, just for self confidence. The one time I met her before, she was super confident. \u2026 I remember thinking how badass that was, yeah, and so, it didn\u2019t surprise me that she said she was her. I thought of that experience. I was like, \u2018Man, what a cool chick.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither Cowdell nor Rex approached Smart during the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to bother her, because, I\u2019ll be honest, I didn\u2019t want people coming up to me while I\u2019m [in] prep,\u201d Rex explained. \u201cIt\u2019s actually really chaotic [backstage]. \u2026 You got these people running around telling you what to do, but it\u2019s pretty chaotic. I, kind of, just kept to myself and let her have her moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowdell also kept her distance but couldn\u2019t help but notice how composed Smart was onstage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so empowering for her to go through such a hard thing and show her confidence and build the mental game that bodybuilding requires,\u201d Cowdell said. \u201cYou have to have such a strong mental game and be able to have that discipline. It\u2019s a very impressive thing to step on that stage. I would say not everyone can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: Elizabeth Smart\u2018s Dad Shares His Thoughts on Nancy Guthrie\u2018s Disappearance<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tElizabeth Smart\u2019s dad, Ed Smart, is sharing his thoughts on the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie\u2019s mom, Nancy Guthrie. Ed, 70, reflected on Elizabeth\u2019s 2002 abduction while explaining the importance of Nancy\u2019s family sharing public pleas for her safe return home during an interview on Fox & Friends on Thursday, February 5. \u201cWhat are the chances [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cI just hope she knows even just the thought of prepping for bodybuilding competitions is super impressive and the people giving her the hate could never even go through what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rex was equally impressed by Smart\u2019s confidence and, similarly to Cowdell, couldn\u2019t understand the level of negativity directed at her.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople like to make opinions about you, and they\u2019ve never met you, and I had a handful of haters too,\u201d Rex told Us. \u201cThe truth is, when you see somebody like Elizabeth Smart [doing] that, you react one of two ways. You either say, \u2018I need to make that person wrong,\u2019 or you [have] to change yourself because you don\u2019t feel good about yourself. You either realize you have to look inward, or you just try to make the other person wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cWhat they do is they spew that hate at Elizabeth, instead of looking at themselves and saying, \u2018You\u2019re either inspired by it or you make it wrong so that you don\u2019t have to look at your own weakness or your own faults.\u2019 I think that\u2019s why she got that hate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowdell also added that Smart\u2019s resilience is inspiring, telling\u00a0Us, \u201cI just hope she knows even just the thought of prepping for bodybuilding competitions is super impressive and the people giving her the hate could never even go through what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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