Senior lifeguards, 76 and 90, make a big impact at Ohio pool

The saying "age is just a number" rings true for a pair of lifeguards in Ohio.

Norm Winstel, 76, and Josie Blackburn, 90, both work at Toronto Memorial Pool and may be Ohio's oldest lifeguards.

At 76, Winstel spends his time by the pool, but he's also the lifeguard on duty.

"I put my 36 to 40 laps in, then hop in the lifeguard stand and be ready to go," Winstel said.

Winstel made the decision to apply for the job when the pool was facing a nationwide labor shortage. He completed his 26.5 hours of lifeguard training and got to work.

"In three days I was a lifeguard, I made it," Winstel said. "It was very hard."

Winstel isn't the oldest person poolside. Just a few chairs down, 90-year-old Josie Blackburn supervises the kids at the splashpad section.

Blackburn said this job has been the best thing to happen to her, as many places wouldn't give her a chance.

"I got so tired of sitting at home with nothing to do," Blackburn said. "I put my application in at McDonalds and they said 'We can't hire you, you're 90 years old. And I was so upset."

Now she's found the perfect spot, helping little ones stay safe and proving age is just a number.

"I'm just so happy, I can't even tell you how happy I am," she said.

"It gives me hope, in my stage of my life that I can do what I wanna do," Winstel said.

Both lifeguards said they plan to be poolside as long as their bodies will let them.