Athlete Eric Randolph “Randy” Barnes (born June 16, 1966, in Charleston) is a two-time Olympic shot put medalist whose career was later overshadowed by the use of performance-enhancing substances. Barnes grew up in St. Albans (Kanawha County) and graduated from St. Albans High School.

During his senior year in 1984, he set the state shot put record of 61 feet, 8 inches. That record stood until 2019, when Cabell Midland’s Gavin Beverage surpassed it by more than four feet. In 1985, Barnes also set a state discus record of 181 feet, 7 inches, which stood until 2004, when Chris Boggs—another St. Albans High athlete—broke it.

Barnes continued his athletic career at Texas A&M University, where he set school records in the shot put. He gained international prominence at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, winning a silver medal in the event.

On January 20, 1989, he set a world indoor shot put record of 74 feet, 3 inches at the Sunkist Invitation in Los Angeles. The mark stood until 2021. On May 20, 1990, he set the outdoor record of 75 feet, 10 inches, which also remained unbroken until 2021. Three months after setting this record, however, he tested positive for anabolic steroids at a meet in Sweden and received a 27-month suspension from competition. His appeal to compete in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was denied.

Barnes returned to competition and won the gold medal in shot put at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with a final throw of 70 feet, 9 inches. In 1998, though, he was suspended from the sport for life after testing positive for the over-the-counter supplement androstenedione. Barnes maintained that he did not know the supplement was prohibited.

Over the course of his career, Barnes was a four-time U.S. champion (1989, 1993, 1996, 1997) and won the U.S. Olympic Trials in both 1988 and 1996. After retiring from track and field, he took up the sport of long-drive golfing.