Eric Randolph Barnes (born June 16, 1966) is an American former

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

ter who held the outdoor

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizati ...

for the event from 1990 to 2021. He won silver at the 1988 Olympics and gold at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Only three throwers have been within of his outdoor world record since it was set. Barnes was banned for 27 months in 1990 for anabolic steroid usage, before he received a lifetime ban in 1998 after testing positive for

androstenedione Androstenedione, or 4-androstenedione (abbreviated as A4 or Δ4-dione), also known as androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, is an endogenous weak androgen steroid hormone and intermediate in the biosynthesis of estrone and of testosterone from dehy ...

Biography

Barnes was born in Charleston, West Virginia, grew up in nearby St. Albans, and began putting the shot in high school. In 1985, he put an impressive with the prep shot of . After graduating from St. Albans High School in 1985, he attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

where he broke school records (set by Randy Matson) with a put of with the full size shot. While at A&M, Randy worked with hall of famer conditioning coach

Istvan Javorek István Javorek (born January 6, 1943 in eastern Europe) is a United States sports conditioning coach. Coach Javorek is the retired head strength and conditioning coach at Johnson County Community College, Kansas, United States. He supervised th ...

and throws coach Robert Parker. He went to the 1988

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

Olympics where he put and earned a silver medal at only 22. He came second to Ulf Timmermann of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, who put . On January 20, 1989, he set a new indoor world record at the Sunkist Invitational in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

with a put of , which was better than his outdoor personal best at the time.Randy Barnes
IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-01-18. On May 20, 1990, he broke Ulf Timmermann's outdoor record with a put of . Six days later he almost matched his world record, throwing at the Bruce Jenner Invitational in San Jose. Barnes was banned from competing for 27 months after testing positive for the

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects t ...

methyltestosterone Methyltestosterone, sold under the brand names Android, Metandren, and Testred among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is used in the treatment of low testosterone levels in men, delayed puberty in boys, at low ...

at a competition in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...

, Sweden, on August 7 that same year. He sued to have the suspension overturned but lost. Due to the suspension, he was unable to compete in the

1992 Olympics 1992 Olympics may refer to: *1992 Summer Olympics, which were held in Barcelona, Spain *1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 ...

. At the 1996 Olympic games, Barnes won the gold medal that eluded him 8 years earlier with a come-from-behind put on his final attempt. In 1998, he tested positive for

, an over-the-counter supplement (famously used by baseball player

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

) that is banned in track and field. Although Barnes claimed he did not know androsten was banned, he was suspended from competition for life. Barnes later became a

long driving Long drive is a sport where players compete to hit or drive a golf ball the farthest. Top long drivers compete professionally in events and exhibitions. Distance Professional long drivers can average over 356 yards (320 m) in competition, compare ...

competitor, competing to hit a golf ball as far as possible; he qualified for the 2005 World Long Drive Championship.Warters, Bob (2004-08-24)
Golden Olympian's now a long driver
Golf Magic. Retrieved on 2015-01-18.

References

External links

Official website

Randy Barnes at Sporting-Heroes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Randy 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Charleston, West Virginia People from St. Albans, West Virginia Track and field athletes from West Virginia American male shot putters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists Doping cases in athletics American sportspeople in doping cases Texas A&M Aggies men's track and field athletes Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics World Athletics indoor record holders Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Sportspeople banned for life