Washington, August 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
US President Donald Trump honoured 16-year-old California lifeguard Ryder Williams at the White House for rescuing Nathaniel Rai from dangerous waves off the Santa Cruz coast.
Trump hosted Williams, Rai and their families in the Oval Office, praising the teenager’s courage and the training that enabled him to carry out the dramatic rescue.
“This is a great story. And it’s an honor to be with Ryder Williams, who is a 16 year old lifeguard, California, the Santa Cruz area,” Trump said.
The President said he had spoken to Rai about the incident and asked whether he would have survived without Williams’ intervention.
“I said, would you have made it without him? And you said, not really, right, not really, it was trouble. So you’re going to have a long and beautiful life,” Trump said.
The rescue drew widespread attention because of the powerful waves and strong currents. Trump said he had watched footage of the incident several times.
“I know when I first saw it, I said, roll that back, I want to see that again, is that really happening?” he said.
Rai’s father, Sumit Rai, expressed gratitude to Williams, fellow lifeguard Aaron Bohnen and others who assisted in the rescue.
“It’s incredible, what Ryder did. I’m just beyond grateful to him and Aaron and the rest of the team and even the good Samaritans that were there,” Rai said.
Williams said he relied on his lifeguard training during the rescue and focused on getting Nathaniel out of the water as quickly as possible.
“In those dangerous moments that we have, we always try to fall back on our training,” he said.
Williams said he hopes to become a firefighter and attend paramedic school. He also urged young people to look out for others and help whenever possible.
Justin McHenry, assistant chief of aquatics and lifeguard operations in Santa Cruz, said warm weather, large surf and strong currents had created particularly dangerous conditions on the day of the rescue.
McHenry said about 200 lifeguards are trained each year, beginning at the age of 16. He said the job requires “a lot of integrity and resilience” and that Williams’ actions reflected the qualities expected of a state park lifeguard.
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