Kris Gemmell (born 28 April 1977, inPalmerston North) is a New Zealandtriathlete, and 2002 WorldAquathon Champion inCancún,Mexico. He has also competed in the2002 and2006 Commonwealth Games finishing 6th and 5th respectively.
Kris Gemmell has been racing on theInternational Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup circuit since 1998 and has had numerous wins and podium finishes.
When Kris moved from Palmerston North toChristchurch in the late 1990s to study at theUniversity of Canterbury, he was an aspiringRugby 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 inPerthAustralia coming a 6th in a field that included future World ChampionIvan Rana. Kris' breakthrough race on the world stage in the senior ranks came in 2000 when he claimed 3rd place at theTokyo round of the ITU World Cup.
Gemmell was selected for the2002 Commonwealth Games inManchester,England where he placed second for New Zealand and sixth in overall. Later that year, he became World Champion in theaquathon before later in the week backing it up with an 8th place at theTriathlon World Championships in Cancún Mexico.
Disappointment followed as Kris suffered some injuries and missed selection to the three-person New ZealandOlympic team forAthens in2004. Nevertheless, the year ended on a high note with his first ITU World Cup victory inGamagori,Japan.
2005 and 2006 saw more good results on the World stage and selection to his secondCommonwealth games this time inMelbourne Australia. After finishing 5th Kris had a series of 4th placings including at the World Championships inLausanneSwitzerland. Kris also won atCorner BrookCanada 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 the2008 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]
Kris has also raced alongside professionalcyclists inUCI sanctioned events such as the Tour of Southland and theTour of Wellington. In 2007 Kris joined theSubway team for the Tour of Wellington as they both are sponsored byAvanti Bikes to kick start his season.
Kris narrowly missed selection to the 2004Olympics in Athens but was named as 'first reserve'. After training with other team membersHamish Carter andBevan Docherty inFrance Kris was invited byTVNZ 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 broadcasterBrendon Telfer and the New Zealand Television audience that the AustralianGreg Bennett would not catch the two New Zealanders.