Many things have to happen for an athlete to achieve the level of perfection in a sport to be included in a hall of fame. It is no different in hurdles, and in fact, the challenge is made even more difficult because of the complex nature of this event, one that takes years of practice to master.

All of the members of my Hall of Fame shared the same basic qualities, without which they never could never have accomplished what they did. Without exception, they all exhibited a fierce determination to perfect what they were taught by dedicated, consistent practice and relentless extra effort.  These hurdlers, without exception, did much more hard work than the average athlete does in getting better at a sport. In fact, the amount of extra practice and training that each one put into their sport would astonish most kids who just come out for "spring track". This extra "stuff" included weight training, running cross country, summer track, crunches-pushups-stretching twice daily, off-season work, fall "hills", strict attention to nutrition and diet, getting enough sleep, and rarely missing practices, always arriving early and leaving late...  God-given talent and competent coaching is needed of course to become a champion but most of the time this elite status is achieved by doing the work, more of it, and with more intensity and focus, than others.