Kris Gemmell

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Gemmell wins 2006 Corner Brook Triathlon, Canada

Kris Gemmell (born 28 April 1977, in

Aquathon Champion in Cancún, Mexico. He has also competed in the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games
finishing 6th and 5th respectively.

Kris Gemmell has been racing on the

International Triathlon Union
(ITU) World Cup circuit since 1998 and has had numerous wins and podium finishes.

Career progression

When Kris moved from Palmerston North to Christchurch in the late 1990s to study at the University of Canterbury, he was an aspiring Rugby union player. However an injury led to a chain of events that resulted in Kris coming to the attention and under the guidance of Doctor John Hellemans. Hellemans is a well known multiple World Champion Triathlete and coach.

In 1997, Gemmell competed in the ITU junior World Championships in

Ivan Rana. Kris' breakthrough race on the world stage in the senior ranks came in 2000 when he claimed 3rd place at the Tokyo
round of the ITU World Cup.

Gemmell was selected for the

aquathon before later in the week backing it up with an 8th place at the Triathlon
World Championships in Cancún Mexico.

Disappointment followed as Kris suffered some injuries and missed selection to the three-person New Zealand

Gamagori, Japan
.

2005 and 2006 saw more good results on the World stage and selection to his second

Commonwealth games this time in Melbourne Australia. After finishing 5th Kris had a series of 4th placings including at the World Championships in Lausanne Switzerland. Kris also won at Corner Brook Canada
and his consistent year was rewarded with 5th place in the ITU points rankings for the year (2006).

In 2007, Gemmell had enjoyed another consistent season with three podiums and two fourth places. One of those fourths was at the Beijing round of the ITU World Cup and this result gained Kris a nomination for the New Zealand Triathlon team to race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. At Beijing, he finished in 39th place.[1] He qualified again for the 2012 Summer Olympics, and finished in 15th place.[2]

Cycling

Kris has also raced alongside professional

Avanti Bikes
to kick start his season.

In the media

Kris narrowly missed selection to the 2004

Olympics in Athens but was named as 'first reserve'. After training with other team members Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty in France Kris was invited by TVNZ to give 'expert' comments on the men's and women's races. Carter and Docherty famously claimed the Gold and Silver medals and Gemmell was able to reassure broadcaster Brendon Telfer and the New Zealand Television audience that the Australian Greg Bennett
would not catch the two New Zealanders.

References

  1. ^ "Beijing 2008 - Men's Triathlon". www.olympic.org. IOC. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  2. ^ "London 2012 - Men's Triathlon". www.olympic.org. IOC. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

External links

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