Matt Hauser has a top-three world championship ranking for the first time as the Australian triathlete continues to build form ahead of the Paris Olympics.
A fortnight after his first world series win, Hauser finished fifth at the inaugural super sprint world championships in Hamburg.
That put the 25-year-old third on the world championship standings as the series continues.
The last Australian to finish third in the men's rankings was Jake Birtwhistle in 2018.
A member of Australia's under-achieving Tokyo Olympics triathlon team, Hauser won a bronze medal at last year's Commonwealth Games, and the Hamburg result boosted his world ranking by two spots.
New Zealander Hayden Wilde won the super sprint final, in which only seven seconds separated the top five.
The super sprint format, which could be introduced for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, involves three heats over two days over a 300m swim, 7km cycle and 1.75km run course.
The field was whittled down from 30 in the opening heat to 20 and finally 10 in the final.
Portugal's Vasco Vilaca leads the men's standings ahead of Wilde, with Hauser next.
The next round of the world championship series is in the English city of Sunderland on July 29-30, followed by the finals at Pontevedra, Spain on September 22-24.
In the women's super sprint event, Australian Sophie Linn was forced out of the second heat when she was left hobbling after apparently being clipped by another competitor at the end of the bike leg.
Meanwhile, Anu Francis won a silver medal at the world para triathlon round in Swansea, Wales.
Bad weather meant Francis' favoured bike leg was scrapped, but she still managed second in the PTS2 category.
Australian star Lauren Parker did not compete due to injury.
