By 4.45pm, Gemmell was jogging the bike back into the transition at the Whanganui Multisport Club, with the gap to the team coming behind him closing to about 20 seconds.
A good fight was also developing in the women's individual grade between locals Margaret Tyson and Tonia Nesbitt, with Tyson having a solid lead coming off the swim in fifth place overall, only to find Nesbitt riding her down and overtaking before the run.
But Gemmell had nothing but daylight ahead as he would extend his 12-second run advantage over the final 2.5km lap, coming home in one hour, 1.38 minutes.
It was satisfying to be first one over the line despite being chased by the fresher legs of team competitors.
"That was a bit of a target for me, so I could stay ahead.
"Not too bad [a finish time] for me.
"[He] was catching me, the team rider."
Having also competed in the swimming and mountain biking during the week, Gemmell was pleased to have had such a strong triathlon given the sun made it a hot competition, whereas he prefers overcast.
Nesbitt would ultimately finish in 1h 10.12m, with Tyson unable to pull time back on the run.
"Margaret and I usually battle it out on the cycle," said Nesbitt, who had been a little worried about her staying power.
"The triathlon's my favourite, but I decided I wanted to do the time trial [cycling on Friday].
"The wind got up a bit, but that's expected at this time of the year."
