UC‑Davis Water Polo Player Rescues Three Girls From Lake Washington During Blue Angels Air Show

Lillie Vehling, a University of California‑Davis water polo player with lifeguard training, swam out from Seattle's Genesee Park on July 31 to rescue three girls who were struggling in Lake Washington while she waited for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels air show.

Vehling said she glanced up from a book and noticed the girls far out near the buoy lane, "bobbing up and down trying to get breaths." Realizing they were in immediate danger, she entered the water and brought each girl back to shore, one by one.

When Vehling reached the third girl, the youngster was unconscious and tangled in buoy rope. "I just saw her black hair in the water barely floating and when I got to her she was unconscious. I lifted her head up out of the water and had my arm underneath her armpit holding her up," Vehling recalled to local reporters. The girl regained consciousness by the time emergency personnel arrived and administered first aid.

Recognition and Next Steps

The rescue occurred during Seafair, Seattle's multi‑week summer festival that coincided with the Blue Angels performance that day. Emily Cantrell, Seafair's president and CEO, personally acknowledged Vehling's actions and festival staff honored her at a gala, ceremonially dubbing her "Lady Guardian of Lake Washington."

Vehling told reporters she plans to reach out to the families of the rescued girls and is considering a future in the U.S. Navy's Nuclear Propulsion Program. Local affiliates KOMO and KCPQ reported on the incident, which drew wider attention for the swift and decisive actions that prevented a potential tragedy.

"To save three people, I didn't think twice about myself," Vehling told KOMO. "I'm just glad everyone's safe."