Name	Kris Gemmell
Date Of Birth	28 April 1977
Position	Triathlon
Palmerston North’s favourite Triathlon prodigy is one of the more interesting characters on the world scene. Known for his aggressive race tactics and at times outspoken nature, Gemmell does everything with attitude and more often than not a smile.

22/08/2008 8:57:18 a.m.

Well where do you start and where do you finish...

I'll start by saying Frodo you’re amazing! As we all know now this race is a race to lose and you won big fella, I can't say anymore than that and you know I don’t need too.

To Simon Whitfield, I have nothing but huge respect. Eight years apart and you nearly got it done again congratulations.

To my Kiwi mate Bevan, another gutsy performance. Those who lay it all on the line when racing get the rewards they rightly deserve and you got yours once again.

It seems the last 48 hours have been only a blur for me. The emotional roller coaster I've been on is somewhat hard to believe and I'm still working out how to deal with it all as best I can. So here we go.

Two weeks ago I was in the best shape of my life. I've worked so hard with every ounce of energy I had available to me on a daily basis for 4 years. I knew I was in a position that I could realise a dream that had been burning inside of me for years now. But in two seconds of madness in my final build up race in Germany everything went pear shaped. These final two weeks heading into the race were some of my most difficult of me life.

It was not only a shame for me but Anja also. She had to deal with all of this as she tried to concentrate on her own race. If there was anyone who knew more than I of how much I wanted this and the form I had it was her.

I need also to say before going any further that the support from everyone during this time is what got me through to the race. Internally TRI NZ was fantastic and believed in me 100% and that was great. They and all of you know how hard I worked for this moment. The kind words of support have been amazing for me. It was not the way we all had foreseen it turning out some weeks ago. I can't really find the right words at the moment to express what I'm feeling when people ask how I'm going after all that’s happened. But I try and I'll keep trying until I understand why it was this way. The easy way I guess is to say there is nothing I can do about it now... And the fact is that’s so right! But it just never seems that easy.

What good could come of such a disappointment I ask myself? Well... I needn't look too far if I was looking for inspiration. My good friend and flat mate wins the race and Olympic gold. And my closest friend of all bags a bronze and with it his second Olympic medal in 4 years. I look to my left and see Bevan’s bronze Medal sitting on the table. I know the sacrifices he made to earn it. I also will face the same reality when I return to my home in Germany. Jan too will have a gold medal to put on our table. He will have to deal with all he has too as the new Olympic champion. We both know and understand his life has changed forever now. So if I needed any sort of motivation for the coming time I'll have no excuses in this department.

I again want to make mention of all the support over the last years and of course the last few weeks and days from everyone. There were many ups and downs along the way as there always is with such a campaign. I and everyone around me made some huge sacrifices for this race and we all did everything right in my view during my build up to race. I guess over a 4 year time span the race for me came two weeks too late! I need to personally thank my one and only coach John Hellemans who is stepping back after this race. You are truly an inspiration to me and what you have done for me during our time together words would not do you justice. It was not the way we had wished it to end but we will fight again mate be sure of that...

To my Mum, Dad, Nicola, Michelle, Anja and the rest of the family we tried but luck was not on our side this time. But your support has been more than I could ask for and having Mum and Dad at the race was as big of a reward for myself as any. It's just sad it couldn't have been more exciting for us all on the day.

To all my sponsors that have been with me from the start and everyone that has joined me since I started this Olympic journey it hurts not to be able to reward you for all the support you have shown me during this time. I look forward to catching up with all of you soon to thank you personally and vow to right the ship heading into London!

I need also to thank the crew in Saarbrucken, you know who you are. The support and understanding of my situation over the last years was more than anyone would have expected leading into the games.

No doubt there will be another few restless nights awaiting me as I continue to try to process all of this. But with all the support that everyone has shown me I promise to move on as fast as I can. We all get knocked around from time to time in sport and in life. But often it’s not how quickly you get up, but when you get up how tall will you stand!!

12/08/2008 9:24:15 a.m.

Hi everyone and welcome in to a well overdue catch up from Korea at the Tri NZ Olympic Games base. As I’m sure many of you are aware, the last ten days or so have been a bit of a whirlwind for myself with a bit of a hiccup in my preparations!

To say I was gutted about the cut to my foot during my last build up race would be a gross understatement. I got my foot caught up in a wheel coming out of transition and on to the bike leg, leaving a nice clean cut and plenty of angst for me.

My friends in Germany were amazing after the accident. I won’t name them here; they all know who they are and what they did to help. Anja (girlfriend Anja Dittmer) was a godsend and it was by no means an easy time for her. But she too knows just how much this means to both of us (Dittmer is racing for Germany in Beijing).

Now I'm here in Korea and together with the rest of the Triathlon NZ team. I'm working so hard to get the foot back to how it was and its coming along better than we all had hoped. I've had a lot of advice and support from everyone since the accident. But the biggest bit of advice I keep giving myself everyday is to believe in all the hard work that’s been done. I've worked so hard and now it's a case of staying focused and keeping on track towards the 19th.

I truly believe that when things like this happen you can either give up or just get stronger. All of you know me well enough to know I'll always choose the latter in this regard, and I would never give up, no matter what.

I understand that reporting back home wasn’t necessarily that accurate at times immediately following the race in Germany, leading to a bit of concern back home from family and friends but the main thing is I am okay and totally focused on the job at hand. Hopefully everyone is by now aware of the exact details and the fact I will most certainly be on that start line ready to race.

My character has been truly tested over this incident. It took me through a learning process I would have loved to have not gone through at this particular time. But it did reconfirm to me why I'm here. I trained myself into the ground over the last years with the hope of representing myself and my country with pride. And I'll do both!

With just over a week to go now until my race I have a new focus and a renewed vigor. I'll be putting everything I can into my race. I'll be going out there to have fun, and enjoy it for what it is. I've come to understand now in the last weeks that getting there is a big achievement in itself. After you do that, it's game on....

Obviously there has not been any time to take in the sights or be a tourist in any way but the base here in Korea has been great. It has mimicked conditions (minus the much talked about smog) for Beijing and we have been away from the pressure cooker that the athletes village can be. There has been some down time when resting to watch the coverage of the Games so far but it is difficult to be much of a spectator when my big day is yet to come, it is no good losing too much energy becoming a fan before my race, after that I can relax and enjoy the remainder of the games I’m sure.

Thanks to everyone for they wishes and continued ongoing support. It will not be forgotten on the 19th!

My family, friends, sponsors and colleagues have been superb. Whether here in Asia or back home (in Europe and NZ) the support has been fantastic. It Is at times like this that you lean on people close to you, not so much to get you through but just to reinforce a belief that the work I have done will put me in good stead on race day.

I hope all is well back in New Zealand, I understand winter has been a very wet and cold one – great for the Skiing but not much fun for the winter training for us triathletes!

I’m not sure what is worse, rain and snow or heat and humidity but I know where I would rather be, and that is here amongst the hot weather and high humidity knowing I have the race of my life in a few days.

I know many of you will be watching from work, maybe at a function or two around the country in a bar or restaurant. Wherever you are, rest assured we will all be racing on the limit to do our best for ourselves and the team.

That is about all for now, see you after the Games, I’ll try and write again but you’ll forgive me if I put my head down and focus 100% on the 19th, 2pm NZT. This is what all the work has been for, I can’t wait.

31/07/2008 11:03:09 a.m.

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