Kerr, 24, is in the form of his career and has set his sights on making a mark on the international stage.

His summer hit a new high when he placed third in an International Triathlon Union (ITU) sprint at Geelong last weekend as part of the Oceania continental cup.

Kerr finished the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre ride and 5km run on Sunday in 55 minutes and 54 seconds.

He placed behind Frenchman Gregory Rouault (55.33) and New Zealander Tony Dodds (55.46), but won the national sprint championship for being the first Australian home.

“It’s been one of those satisfying things. You train day in, day out pretty hard,” Kerr said of being an Australian champion.

“It’s one of the first races I felt quite content with. It’s not often you get to celebrate success within racing and triathlons.

“To put a title against my name is satisfying. You’ve got to make sure you appreciate the things that you’ve done along the way.

“It’s not necessarily a constant moving of the goalposts to be successful. You have to be happy with the steps along the way.

“I’m very happy I can tick off that event.”

Kerr said his long-term ambition was to represent Australia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

But his immediate goal is to contest the 2013 World Triathlon Series, an eight-leg ITU series which starts in Auckland on April 6 and 7.

Competitors qualify by having enough ITU points and endorsement from their national triathlon body.

“There’s a lot of stress relieved for the next couple of races knowing my competitors Australia-wise have to play a bit of catch up versus myself,” Kerr said.

His next chance to boost his qualification hopes is the Oceania sprint triathlon championships at Devonport, Tasmania, on February 24.

The Oceania Olympic-distance triathlon championships at Wellington, New Zealand, on March 9 are also on the radar.

“It’s a busy month coming up. It’s one of those ones I can get some good results,” Kerr said.

“Australia hasn’t had a successful athlete overall (in the World Triathlon Series) for a while other than Brad Kahlefeldt. My hope is to step up and be that next person in.”

afawkes@fairfaxmedia.com.au