Kris Gemmell (born 28 April 1977, in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

) is a New Zealand

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

, and 2002 World Aquathon Champion in

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. 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 World Triathlon, previously known as the International Triathlon Union (ITU), is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations. World Triathlon hosts the top l ...

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

Career progression

When Kris moved from Palmerston North to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in the late 1990s to study at the University of Canterbury, he was an aspiring

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

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

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Australia coming a 6th in a field that included future World Champion Ivan Rana. Kris' breakthrough race on the world stage in the senior ranks came in 2000 when he claimed 3rd place at the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

round of the ITU World Cup. Gemmell was selected for the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he placed second for New Zealand and sixth in overall. Later that year, he became World Champion in the aquathon before later in the week backing it up with an 8th place at the

Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

World Championships in Cancún Mexico. Disappointment followed as Kris suffered some injuries and missed selection to the three-person New Zealand

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

team for

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 2004. Nevertheless, the year ended on a high note with his first ITU World Cup victory in Gamagori, Japan. 2005 and 2006 saw more good results on the World stage and selection to his second

Commonwealth games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

this time in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia. After finishing 5th Kris had a series of 4th placings including at the World Championships in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

Switzerland. Kris also won at Corner Brook

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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. He qualified again for the 2012 Summer Olympics, and finished in 15th place.

Cycling

Kris has also raced alongside professional

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

in UCI sanctioned events such as the Tour of Southland and the Tour of Wellington. In 2007 Kris joined the Subway team for the Tour of Wellington as they both are sponsored by 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 Bevan John Docherty (born 29 March 1977) is a triathlete from New Zealand, who won medals twice at the Olympic Games. Docherty attended Tauhara College, Taupo. Life Docherty and his sister Fiona grew up in Taupo, in the North Island of New ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

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

External links

Kris Gemmell's Official website

Subway Cycling Team - Professional New Zealand Cycling Team

Profile of Kris Gemmell

Avanti Bikes - Kris's Bike Sponsor

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemmell, Kris 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Palmerston North Triathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic triathletes of New Zealand Triathletes at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Triathletes at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Triathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics New Zealand male triathletes 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people