As relentless, crashing waves pummeled the shores of Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, Calif., over the weekend, churning up sand and turning the surf into a salty foam, a teenage lifeguard with an unrelenting grip pulled, dragged and lifted a young boy from the water to bring him to safety.
A video captured the save and showed bystanders rushing into the surf in an attempt to help as violent waves sent the lifeguard and the boy under the water multiple times. Claps broke out as the lifeguard, with the help of another person, pulled the boy to the shore.
“You never see panic,” said Tom Gill, president of the United States Lifesaving Association, after watching the video. “He does such a good job maintaining contact with the victim and understanding the situation and what he has to do to maintain safety.”
Mr. Gill, who has been a lifeguard at Virginia Beach for more than three decades, also noted that the rescue involved little to no equipment. Although the lifeguard appeared to have a buoy with him, he does not manage to get the flotation device around the victim.
“This was really simply a human helping a human,” Mr. Gill said.
The video of the rescue quickly spread through social media, drawing the attention of President Trump, who said he wanted to honor the lifeguard at the White House.
“Very brave, he deserves it!” wrote Mr. Trump in a post on X.
Wyatt Werneth, a spokesman for the American Lifeguard Association, said he hoped the recognition would help elevate lifeguards to the status of first responders.
“We sometimes get overlooked,” Mr. Werneth said. “What this young man exhibited is the true ethos of lifeguards.”
A California State Parks spokeswoman said the child who was rescued was knocked down by a wave and swept into the ocean about 15 yards offshore at about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The child was pulled from the ocean without serious injuries and released to his parents, the spokeswoman said.
Scott Vander Dussen, who captured the video, said in an interview that it was the thunderous booms of the waves that prompted him to look out at the water and notice the boy drifting. Onlookers were pointing at the boy and screaming. Mr. Vander Dussen said he alerted a lifeguard, who told him someone was already on the rescue.
That day, the National Weather Service warned of elevated surf and hazardous conditions along the Pacific Coast. The agency said beaches across the San Francisco Bay Area faced an increased risk of rip currents and sneaker waves — fast-moving walls of water that can arrive without warning and surge farther up the beach than other waves in a set. Breaking waves could reach up to 10 feet, the service warned.
Lifeguards with California State Parks’ Santa Cruz District performed 34 rescues over the weekend, officials said.
Amy Graff contributed reporting.
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