NAME THE NEW GYMNASIUM AT EMINENCE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL TO HONOR JIM GREEN

Jim Green was a Kentucky prep track champion from Eminence High School in the 100, 220, and 440, and attended the University of Kentucky on a track scholarship. By the time he graduated in 1971, he had won five NCAA titles, eight SEC titles and had broken UK and SEC records. Just before the 1968 New Mexico Olympics, while still at UK, Green tied the world record in the 100-meter dash. He entered the USA Olympic Trials as the 100-meter record holder, but a pulled hamstring in the semifinal race ended his chance. Green was the first African-American athlete to graduate from UK, and he later competed on the Professional Track Circuit for five years. During this time, he tied the world record in the 60-yard, 100-yard and 100-meter dashes, broke the world record in the 300-yard dash, competed in 10 foreign countries, and once defeated a field of the top sprinters in the world in a 60-yard race. He broke UK and SEC records, and in 1971 he was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 100 meters. He has been inducted into six halls of fame, including the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the UK Athletic Hall of Fame. As a trailblazer, Green endured hostile experiences in competitions across the Deep South, Green “stood tall, deflected the insults, and collected the winning medals.” Mr. Green is an inspiration, role model and local home town hero in Eminence and his accomplishments finally need to be recognized in the form of having the new sports facility named after him.