When the whistle blew, Tanev Goel was ready to make the save.
Goel is Rutland High School Students at the school’s Lifeguard Academy spend two days a week at the YMCA H2O Adventure + Fitness Centre in Kelowna, British Columbia, where academy students train to prepare for real-life situations.
“The simulation is supposed to be realistic, they don't know what's going to happen next and we have them train their knowledge, skills and judgement through different types of victims ranging from non-swimmers who are drowning to spinal patients who are unconscious,” said Alan McNabb, lifesaving teacher at Rutland Senior High School.
Goel is in his first year in the program, and he had already completed a life-saving rescue a few weeks ago during a family vacation.
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“All of a sudden, this lady starts screaming in the back of the plane. Everybody starts panicking. I was so scared, I was just going crazy. I didn't know what was going on. I took out my headphones. I looked behind me. There was a kid with a purple face,” Gore said.
Goel said the choked boy's family didn't speak English, making it difficult to communicate, but he asked for and received permission to intervene.
“So, I grabbed him and I threw him around. I started choking him — one, two, three. Nothing happened. I slapped him on the back — one, two, three, I did it three (or) four more times, nothing happened. All the sounds were drowned out, and I was like, I could only hear my own heartbeat and my own breathing, and I was like, 'I can't do this. I can't save this kid. I don't know what's going to happen.'”
But the 16-year-old didn't give up.
“Then I heard everything. I saw a piece of food come out of his mouth and everything came back to life. He looked at me and was relieved. I looked at him and was relieved. Everyone started cheering. It was a phenomenal moment for me.”
While Goel was able to apply what he learned, he’s not the only student to become a young hero. He’s one of many students who have taken part in the program, which began in 2018 and has trained more than 80 students, 20 percent of whom have gone on to become professional lifeguards — something Goel hopes to become one day.
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