On the 15/08/2010 two AGS teams competed in the European Police Triathlon Championships in KIitzuhel.  The beautiful Austrian town was the picturesque setting for a very tough triathlon. A round of the European professional triathlon series was held the day before, so our athletes were presented with a very professional set up.  The AGS members had the pleasure of watching both professional races, with athletes from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, and the US competing.  The morning of the race dawned bright and more importantly dry with little wind.  At 08:00hrs the competitors made their way to the transition to meticulously make their final checks.  At 08:20hrs a clap of thunder heralded a torrential downpour.  Thankfully, within 30 minutes the rain ceased and the sun splashed the course for the rest of the day.  The athletes then gathered infront of the Grandstand and were individually introduced to the large crowd gathered.  The 1500m swim consisted of 2 and a half laps in the pontoon with the athletes having to exit and dive back in for the second lap.  Darren Hughes produced a great swim and was 22nd out of the water, with Mick Macken and Stephen Brazil in 54th and in 60th, respectively.  The bike proved a difficult task and Mick put in a fine 40km ride, being the 30th fastest biker.  Darren fell back a bit on the bike completing the course in 68:48.  Stephen Brazil improved his position and was 53rd on the rothar.  Finally to the run and Mick posted a solid 10k of 41:37.  Darren Made it across the line in 46:34, which was 55th fastest run.  Stephen, clocked 49:29 and continued to make progress.  Overall Mick Macken powered his way through the field after the swim and finished 40th in 2:09:50, just 18 minutes down on the winner, a Ukranian.  Infact the Ukranians finished in the first three spots in the race.  Darren Hughes placed in 54th with a final time of 2:17:14 and Stephen Brazil produced some excellent stuff to move through the field after the swim to finish 57th in 2:24:47.  The ladies race probably witnessed the Garda performance of the weekend by Eve McCrystal.  Our team consisted of Eve, Gail O'Donoghue and Shelia Griffin.  Shelia was in 27th after the swim, with Gail a little behind in 34th.  However, Eve cut through the water with ease and she exited the water in 26th place.  Eve knuckled down on the bike and put in a time of 68:32 to place 19th.  Gail and Shelia lost a little ground on the bike leg finishing 38th and 39th, respectively.  On the final 10k run Eve continued her good form finishing 25th in a time of 50:07 for the 25th fastest run.  Gail ran the four 2.5k loops in 70:18 with Shelia finishing in 36th with 69:09.  In overall classification, Eve finished in 25th with a combined time of 2:28:33.  Gail placed 36th and Shelia 37th.  Amazingly after a 1500m swim, 40k cycle and 10k run they both clocked 3:05:13.  Well done to all our fine athletes for representing us so heroically in Europe.  A special word to the teams manager Joe Carton and Jack Nolan for all their dedication and work.  Roll on 2014.