Background
Barnes was born in Charleston, West Virginia, grew up in nearby Saint Albans, and began throwing shot put in high school.
Barnes was born in Charleston, West Virginia, grew up in nearby Saint Albans, and began throwing shot put in high school.
After graduating from Saint Albans High School in 1985, he attended Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University where he broke school records (set by Randy Matson) with a throw of 21.88 metres (718 ft) with the 7.26 kilograms (160 lb) full size shot.
As of 2016, both of Barnes"s records still stand. Only one thrower has been within 60 centimetres (24 in) of the outdoor record in the last 10 years. In 1985, he threw an impressive 20.36 metres (668 ft) with the prep shot of 5.4 kilograms (12 lb).
While at Agricultural and Mechanical, Randy worked with hall of famer conditioning coach Istvan Javorek.
He went to the 1988 Seoul Olympics where he threw 22.39 metres (735 ft) and earned a silver medal at only 22. He came second to Ulf Timmermann of East Germany, who threw 22.47 metres (737 ft).
On January 20, 1989, he set a new indoor world record at the Sunkist Invitational in Los Angeles with a throw of 22.66 metres (743 ft), 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 23.12 metres (759 ft).
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. In 1998, he tested positive for androstenedione, an over-the-counter supplement (famously used by Mark McGwire) that is banned in track and field
Although Barnes claimed he didn"t 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.