by Kevin Cody
Los Angeles County Lifeguard Scott Linkletter met Chris, his wife of 27 years, after overhearing her respond to a lifeguard emergency radio call.
He was so impressed he made a point of meeting her the next day.
“I go for a run after work every day. So the next day, I ran down to her Avenue C (Torrance Beach) tower,” he recalled.
His initial impression was reinforced that day, and throughout their subsequent years working together. Scott Linkletter served with the Los Angeles County Lifeguards for 37 year.
“I was never as good a lifeguard as Chris,” he said last Wednesday during the Annual Lifeguard Medal of Valor dinner at the King Harbor Yacht Club.
Christine Linkletter’s achievements over her nearly four decades of lifeguarding were recognized at the dinner when she was presented with the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Lifetime Achievement Award.
Linkletter was the first female lifeguard captain, first female lifeguard section chief, and first female named to the Swiftwater Rescue Team.
“I don’t think she ever refused an assignment. And she succeeded at them all,” her husband said.
Linkletter raced surf skis in lifeguard competitions, ran marathons and competed in seven Ironman Triathlon World Championships.
In 2018, the International Surf Festival created the Linkletter Woman’s Surf Relay in her honor. ER
