Randy Barnes


Eric Randolph Barnes is an American former shot putter who held the outdoor world record for the event from 1990 to 2021. He won silver at the 1988 Olympics and gold at the 1996 Olympics. Only three throwers have been within of his outdoor world record since it was set.

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 where he broke school records 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 Olympics where he put and earned a silver medal at only 22. He came second to Ulf Timmermann of East Germany, 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 with a put of, which was better than his outdoor personal best at the time.
On May 20, 1990, he broke Ulf Timmermann'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 methyltestosterone at a competition in Malmö, 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, 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, an over-the-counter supplement 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.