OMAHA, Nebraska (AFP) - Breaststroker Brendan Hansen, his Beijing Olympics berth secure in the 100m, now has his sights on the 200m and a chance to claim the double that eluded him in Athens.

"I honestly think my best race is in front of me," Hansen said after his victory in the 100m breast at the US Olympic swimming trials on Monday night.

"I've always been a 200 breaststroker more than 100."

Hansen was disappointed in his winning 100m time of 59.93, having come closer in the semi-finals to his world record of 59.13.

But he said the security of knowing he was safely on the team for Beijing would make the 200m easier.

"Now that I'm on the team, I can relax and use the strengths to my advantage," said Hansen, who will tackle the 200m heats and semi-finals on Wednesday with the final on Thursday.

At the 2000 Olympic trials, Hansen fell short of qualifying for the Olympic team by a combined 0.80 in the two events.

In 2004 he bounced back to set two world records at the trials, then lost out on gold in both breaststrokes to Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, taking silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m.

Kitajima twisted the knife on June 8, when he broke Hansen's 200m breaststroke world record - a mark Hansen said he thinks of as "his baby."

The American didn't go so far as predicting a 200m world record in Omaha, but he said his mental approach to the longer race would be different, with none of the niggling doubts and worries that dogged his first event.

"You don't want to think about it, but you think about every possible thing that could go wrong," Hansen said.

"The littlest thing can go wrong and you don't make the team.

"I wanted to make sure I solidified that spot, now that I have I'm going to go ahead with guns blazing."