Dania Bogle, Senior STAR Writer

Practice is the key ingredient for success, says women's 100m hurdles world champion, Danielle Williams.

Twenty two-year-old Williams, the World University Games champion, surprised the world and herself, when she beat the field to win the World title at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Beijing, China, last month.

Speaking to the IAAF's Spike magazine, Williams said practising her art helped improve her technique, which is key to staying focused under pressure.

"Practice brings out consistency and being consistent allows you to perform more reliably under pressure.

"If you don't have a reliable technique, things will fall down under pressure. The most important part of becoming a good sprint hurdler is to hurdle. I am lucky in that I did hurdling from such a young age and it did come easily to me, but the higher up you go the more important it is to practise hurdling to make those important gains," Williams said.

The Jamaica national champion, who is conditioned by Johnson C Smith University head coach and head coach of Jamaica's team in Beijing, Lennox Graham, added that desire for one's craft also plays a huge role in success.

"If you don't have that desire to do your sport, you will not be motivated to go out there and train hard. I am not only an athlete, but a genuine fan of the sport. My interest in athletics began when I used to watch my older sister Shermaine train in the evenings.

My desire really comes from being very competitive, and this desire has allowed me to train hard and do my best."

Williams' sister, Shermaine, who won a silver medal in the event at the 2008 World Junior Champion-ships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, finished seventh in Beijing.

"I've worked hard on improving my technique, and I feel like these improvements have made a big difference," Williams concluded.