Exclusive | Elizabeth Smarts astonishing transformationinspires other women to heal from trauma through weightlifting

Elizabeth Smart was only 14-years-old when she was abducted at knifepoint from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, and sexually assaulted by a street preacher and his wife.A year after her disappearance, Smart safely returned home.But the traumatizing wounds remained.

Since her horrifying experience, the now 38-year-old has become a child safety activist, has launched a program teaching women self-defense skills — and more recently shed light on the healing potential of weightlifting after she won first place at a bodybuilding competition in April.“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,” Smart wrote in an Instagram post celebrating her bodybuilding successes.“This 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.

I am so proud of my body, and I want to celebrate it,” she added.The activist received an outpouring of support from her hundreds of thousands of followers, many of whom are fellow survivors, calling her a role model and admiring her “courage, determination and work ethic.”Taylor Ann Pappas was one of them.During a recent lifting session at the gym, the South Florida run coach couldn’t help but notice a random man re-racking her weights — before she’d completed her set. “2017 Taylor would have been like, ‘Oh, I’ll just go get a new plate,’ Pappas recounted.

“2026 Taylor was like — ‘Bro, what are you doing?’”The 37-year-old told The Post that she wasn’t always so sure of her place or power — describing the version of herself from almost a decade ago as “meek.” Despite achieving much success in her career — she holds a master’s degree, works in education, and is a yoga instructor — she neither recognized nor...