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 (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

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 organizatio ...

for the event from 1990 to 2021. He won silver at the

1988 Olympics 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 () ...

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.

Biography

Barnes was born in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

, 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, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

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 and throws coach Robert Parker. He went to the 1988

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

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

Ulf Timmermann Ulf Béla Timmermann (, ; born 1 November 1962 in East Berlin) is a German former shot putter who broke the world record several times during the 1980s, and is the first and one of only four people to ever throw over 23 metres (along with Rand ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, who put at the height of East German doping dominance. On January 20, 1989, he set a new indoor world record at the Sunkist Invitational in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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

's outdoor record with a put of . Six days later Timmermann 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 as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs that are structurally related to testosterone, the main male sex hormone, and produce effects by binding to the androgen receptor (AR). Anabolism, Anaboli ...

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 is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, 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. At the

1996 Olympic Games 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, ...

, 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

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 dehydroe ...

, 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 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 20th-century American sportsmen