Joel Goldberg and Barbi Lander Sapot
A Jewish mixed doubles team took the gold medal in pickleball during the 2025 St. Louis Senior Olympics. Joel Goldberg and his sister-in-law Barbi Lander Sapot won the round-robin tournament at Padel+Pickel in Olivette on Sat., May 10. The duo, who are both members of Temple Israel, explained the attraction of the sport.
“I like the exercise and the camaraderie of pickleball,” Sapot said. “It’s the people that make it fun.”
“It’s good competition,” Goldberg said. “You can get as intense as you want to be.”
Goldberg credited the team’s win to constant communication. “We’re each responsible for two-thirds of the court,” he said. “When the ball goes to Barbi’s side of the court, I yell ‘Yours!’”
