The Viennese police dog handler Thomas Daniel and his service dog “Defcon” won their first appearance in the “Police Service Dogs” competition at the “World Police and Fire Games 2022” in Rotterdam. The duo completed the 12-kilometer obstacle course with 24 stations in 53 minutes and eight seconds. They won against 81 military and police service dog handlers, according to a broadcast by the Ministry of the Interior on Monday.
A total of 10,000 athletes from more than 70 countries competed in 63 disciplines. Among the military and police service dog handlers were applicants from Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Germany and Austria. “The competition in Rotterdam showed once again that our police officers enjoy excellent training in an international comparison,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (VP).
Dog handler Daniel was an Olympic participant in London in 2012 and took sixth place in the modern pentathlon. He is also an eleven-time state champion of this Olympic discipline. In 2015 he was voted “Police Officer of the Year”. “I’m proud of our performance. Defcon and I have spent two months preparing intensively for the competition and we want to set new best times in the future,” said Daniel.
Source: Nachrichten
