(Sooooo excited that this just appeared yesterday on the West Newsmagazine online site with my photos from the Affton meet! Shared it on Facebook, tagging recipient...with more than 200 likes and 100 comments already!)
There is no better indicator of Jai-Jai Goldstein’s power lifting stature than the announcer’s introduction at The Center in Affton on Dec. 10. The long-time Creve Coeur resident and 1975 Parkway North graduate turned to tears when he referred to her as “The Legend,” and added, “Everybody knows Jai-Jai!”
Goldstein is also known as “Mama Jai” because she has performed in the sport since 2005. At age 65, she is also the oldest lifter at both Broken Bar Bell in Weldon Springs and St. Louis Barbell in Ellisville, two of 10 such gyms in the area. She also coaches locally and volunteers at several sites, including the Ability Gym at Mid Rivers Mall.
But Goldstein’s longevity is overshadowed by her lifting achievements. She is a true power lifting phenom.
Born Jaime Lavine in Trenton, New Jersey, Goldstein, did not place in her first meet. However, she finished first in every meet she entered from 2012 through May 2022. All USAPL and USPA meets include squats, bench press and dead lifts.
Highlights of her career include being the current Missouri State Champ in her weight class/age division plus a list of nearly 20 first-place finishes in the rather small number of events in which she has competed. Goldstein has also excelled in the Missouri Senior Olympics State games. They don’t do squats or dead lifts there, only arm curls, leg press and bench.
She wasn’t sure she had a chance of placing in the recent Dec. 10 meet due to a good number of physical ailments and uncertainty about making her desired weight class. Most meets are done by age and weight categories; however, this meet was an open meet, meaning she was competing against all the other Masters, a category that starts at age 40. She was concerned because younger girls are stronger.
“I do a water cut to lower my weight because the less you weigh and the more you lift, the better the numbers are. It’s another mind game. This is the very first time I have not made the weight I wanted. So, I had to go up a weight class because I waited too long to eat properly. I usually do it six months clean cut and I only did three months. So, I was six pounds off ... but I knew it coming in.”
That said, Goldstein admitted that entering any meet, you don’t know how you’ll do because you don’t know the recent numbers of those who you will compete against. She used to pay close attention to statistics and observe others during competitions. However, if others missed lifts, there was always a question of whether she should go up in weight or do the same lift.
She added that on her third lift of each event, she usually goes for as much weight as possible. That’s because it’s more a matter of competing against herself. At this meet, she only missed her final bench attempt.
Fellow lifter Kendra Strong never ruled out Goldstein placing in December.
“She’s been terrific to compete against and to be around,” Strong said. “You never know ahead of time if you have a chance or not. One meet, I only had one successful lift out of nine. I’m pretty sure she’ll be near the top at the end.”
The words of Strong, who Goldstein refers to as “a crazy Strong lady,” proved to be prophetic.
“The meet winner I competed against was freaking strong. She said, ‘I’m close to your age aren’t I?’ I said, ‘How old are you?’ She said she was 54. I told her, ‘I’m 11 years older than you.’ That’s a whole different ballgame and she’s an incredibly strong Masters. I was shocked that I even took second in that group!”
Goldstein was spurred on not only by the announcer’s words, but also encouragement from fellow athletes and the crew from one of her gyms.
“My mind goes elsewhere like thinking, ‘I can’t do this,’ but they told me, ‘Yes, you can! Think positive!’ One day, they’re supporting me; the next day, I’m going to support them. Also, the cheering was just amazing!”
Goldstein shared that her crew is always a huge help. They spot you, write you programs, and help with nutrition. Every person at the gym has some little area of expertise that everyone else doesn’t have. Some don’t lift. They just become cheerleaders. Also, people bring you food and drinks, she said.
Goldstein got involved in power lifting after joining Club Fitness in Creve Coeur where she worked out with niece Allison Lavine-Lindberg, a 2003 Parkway North grad.
“We met a trainer there named Chris Glover,” Goldstein said. “We signed up with him and he eventually started his own power lifting gym called Crossfit Maryland Heights. A couple years into it, he said, ‘Hey! Do you want to try some power lifting?’ He entered the three of us in a local power lift meet (in Wentzville around 2005). I took last place (as the oldest female competitor) and they both took first. But it snowballed from there because of Chris. He just competed in Columbia a couple months ago where I judged. They won the team title there. You want to talk about full circle! He’s a great trainer! Because of him, I’m still competing and now I’m a national judge. I owe it to him!”
Although excelling in the sport, Goldstein does also like being a referee or judge. However, she shared, “You always have to know your stuff as a judge. I’m constantly studying the book, including the week before I’m going to a meet. Even though I know the rules, I’m studying more to freshen up.”
Competitor, referee or judge still takes a back seat to the people she has met along the way.
“Put aside all the records, trophies and medals because the highlight is meeting the incredible amount of people from all over this country with whom I’ve become very close friends. Also, it’s a sport that doesn’t care how old you are, the color of your skin, how much you weigh, what your gender is or what you do for a living,” Goldstein said.
One of those people is Sara Kotthoff, who Goldstein introduced to the sport. At first, Kothoff was doing a limited amount of lifting due to an injury. She credits Goldstein with a good amount of her success.
“When I decided to do my first meet in October (2022), she loaned me one of her singlets so I could try competition without incurring any significant cost,” Kotthoff recalled. “She also made sure she was officiating at that meet and we shared a room. The support and encouragement was very much appreciated. She is truly the grand dame and is one of the women who showed me what I can be capable of at any age.”
Goldstein’s sports career began at Parkway North Junior High with volleyball, which is still her favorite sport. She believes every sport is 50% mental.
“But my mental is getting me physical and my physical is keeping my mental alive,” she said.
Although she is having total right knee surgery in March, she is hoping to be able to compete before the end of 2023. She shared that in power lifting, even if you have arthritis, you’re still moving. Realizing that she is going to be off for three-and-a-half to four months, she said she will try to ref, if she can. If not, she can work the table.
“Again it’s mindset; how fast am I going to do my (physical therapy)? I came back from my ACL/MCL (repaired) in three-and-a-half months playing competitive ball,” she said. “But this time, it’s my total right knee, so I have no clue.”
Goldstein added that working out and competing has helped her deal with the absolute greatest love in her life – being a grandmother to Henry, who lives in town.
“I babysit for him every week and I want to be able to keep going, to lift him up and into the air and keep crawling along the floor with him. We make forts and we paint. I know that in another year, he’s going to go to pre-school and I’m going to cry even more. I try and freeze time with him as much as I can because he’s my everything! He is my favorite human!”
Aside from power lifting and being a grandparent, Goldstein’s passion is her career. She started CPR-N-MORE with a fellow clinical instructor in 2006. In 2019, Goldstein became the sole owner of the company, which offers a wide variety of training classes which include first aid, first aid in the wilderness and CPR.
“In a nutshell, I teach people how to save lives,” Goldstein shared.
With several state and national records in tow, Goldstein said that after recovering from surgeries, she would also like to get her first attempt at competing for a world record. She shared that she’d like to be lifting into her 90s.
“It’s eluding me. But someday, that’s a goal of mine. At this age, we have to keep moving,” Goldstein said. “I don’t care if I lift just 5 pounds. We have to keep moving because we know the alternative.”
