Santa Barbara lifeguard Zane Booth competes in the swimming leg of the Ironman race.
Santa Barbara Ocean Lifeguard Zane Booth won a Gold and Two Bronze Medals, and finished in 6th place overall at the Jersey Mike’s United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) National Lifeguard Championships held in Hermosa Beach on Aug. 11-13.
Booth, a member of the Santa Barbara Lifeguard Association team, competed over three days alongside more than 500 competitors from 43 agencies from across the country.
He finished First Place (Gold) in the Board Race event and Third Place (Bronze) in the grueling Ironman event, which is a multi-discipline event: the competitor will do a swim, a board paddle, a surf ski, and a run to the finish line.
Booth also nabbed Third Place (Bronze) in the Board Rescue Relay race, and Fifth Place in the Board Rescue race.
He scored an impressive 63.875 points to land in the Top-10 among hundreds of Open Men competitors. (Open Men races are adults 30 years-old or younger).
The SBLA team landed at 11th place overall — a solid showing when competing among local powerhouse teams from L.A. County Surf Life Saving Association (LACoSLSA), California State Lifeguard Assoc.(CSLA) and San Diego Surf Lifesaving Assoc. (SDSLSA).
LACoSLSA won the USLA National Lifeguard Championships — it’s 46th win — with CSLA taking second. SDSLA nabbed 6th place.
East Coast teams Sussex County (NJ), Monmouth County (NJ) and Hampton Lifeguard Assoc. (NY) ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
The USLA National Lifeguard Championships were last held on the west coast in 2016. The event moves to Virginia Beach, Va., in 2023.
– Staff Report
