Randy Barnes

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 (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 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 May 20, 1990, he broke Ulf Timmermann's outdoor record with a put of .

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.

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.