Monday, 6 p.m.: Left an Airbnb in Argentina.

Tuesday, 4 p.m.: Arrived at her Dunkirk home.

Wednesday, 8 a.m.: Started her work day as a pharmacy technician at CVS in Dunkirk.

So what if she was jet-lagged and tired?

A close-up of the medals, accompanied, at far right, by an archived selfie of her with former World’s Strongest Man, the late Don Reinhoudt. Photo courtesy of Kristi Mets

The trip to Buenos Aires was worth every minute of the 10-hour flight each way and the resulting sleep deprivation, because it’s not often you can stash three gold medals and a silver medal into a carry-on.

And it’s not every day that you can walk into your home gym for the first time since the podium visits and receive a rousing ovation for being a world record-holder.

Such is life these days for Kristi, the 55-year-old married mother of two grown sons.

It’s been quite a journey for her in more ways than one.

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Kristi Mets receives a kiss from her husband and coach, Dan Mets. Photo courtesy of Kristi Mets

Kristi said that her accomplishments at the IPL World Powerlifting Championships still don’t “seem real.”

For the record, Kristi’s hardware was in recognition of her first-place finishes in Masters (55-59) Raw Full-Power, which includes the squat, bench press and deadlift together; Masters Bench-Only; and Open Bench-Only. She also placed second in Open Raw Full-Power.

“When I walked into (Dunkirk Fitness) for the first time, everybody was clapping and everybody had to touch the medals,” she said.

All that success a little more than a week ago and the recognition that has followed — she was also a member of the second-place U.S. team — has come on the heels of Kristi’s performance in the U.S. Nationals in Pittsburgh this summer where she set a world record in the bench press. So, for good measure, she broke that mark twice in Buenos Aires — with lifts of 226 pounds and, later, 237 pounds.

“During my training for Worlds, I was hitting really good numbers,” said Kristi, who is coached by her husband, Dan, and Cody Felt of Dunkirk Fitness. “At Worlds, I didn’t hit the numbers I wanted to hit on some of my lifts. We all totally underestimated the amount of stress on your body because of traveling that far.”

“Team Kristi” is accustomed to “hitting numbers” figuratively out of just about any gym. In fact, although she has only been competing in powerlifting since May 2022, Kristie has amassed 36 New York state, one national and eight World U.S. Powerlifting Association records.

“(Dan and Cody) believe I can do things I don’t believe I can do,” she said. “At Nationals, I just went out there, they gave me a number, I turned it in at the table and just did it. I trust their input. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them.

“I waited until I was older (to begin competing) and it saved the wear and tear on my body.”

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If Kristie has one regret, it’s that the late Don Reinhoudt, a lifelong Chautauqua County resident, wasn’t around to celebrate her accomplishments.

In his absence — Reinhoudt passed away in 2023 — Kristi chose to pay homage to her mentor in a Facebook post she made from Argentina on Oct. 31.

It reads: “Don Reinhoudt, you have no idea how sad it makes me that you aren’t here to be a part of this. I know you would have been so excited. You are missed, my friend. Today I honor you.”

To that end, Kristi also posted a photo of her four medals AND a screenshot of an archived selfie of her and Reinhoudt together. Somewhere, the former World’s Strongest Man and Chautauqua County Sports Hall of Famer is smiling.

The rest of the western Southern Tier of New York should be, too.