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 organization ...

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 dehydroepia ...

Biography

Barnes was born in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, grew up in nearby

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

, 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 James Randel "Randy" Matson (born March 5, 1945) is an American track and field athlete who mostly competed in the shot put. Matson won a silver medal at the 1964 and a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. Early years The son of Charles and Ellen M ...

) 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 known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

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

Ulf Timmermann Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century. The f ...

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 world' ...

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 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 (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...

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 populat ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, 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, 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 Cardi ...

) 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