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Ryder Williams, the lifeguard hero California needed

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Ryder Williams, the 16-year-old lifeguard who threw himself into giant waves this weekend in Santa Cruz to save a 10-year-old boy from drowning, is being celebrated as the hero America needed.

More to the point: He’s the hero California needed.

The video went viral: A strong but slender lifeguard with a mop of blond hair, pulling a young, dark-haired boy from the surf.

The boy can barely keep his head above the water. His swimming trunks appear to have been torn off by the force of the undertow.

Ryder braces himself for each wave as it crashes against them, forcing them underwater for several perilous seconds each time.

Struggling against the awesome power of the ocean, he moves steadily ashore, until other lifeguards arrive to help him.

And the best part? Ryder Williams went right back to his tower after saving the boy. That wasn’t even the only rescue he performed that day, according to his grandfather, who told The California Post that the young lifeguard saved two more lives before the end of his shift.

The White House responded immediately to the viral video of Ryder’s........

© New York Post