OLYMPIC SHOT PUTTER REQUESTS A HEARING BY USA TRACK AND FIELD

Barnes appeals his suspension

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Shot putter Randy Barnes, suspended for a second time
after testing positive for a banned substance, filed an appeal Friday with
USA Track and Field for a hearing.

The 1996 Olympic gold medalist and world indoor and outdoor record-holder is
trying to avoid a lifetime ban. Barnes was first suspended for two years in
1991 by the International Amateur Athletic Federation for the steroid
methyltestosterone.

He tested positive again April 1 in an out-of-competition test at
Charleston, W.Va., for the nutritional substance androstenedione, which
increases the body's ability to produce its own testosterone naturally.

To escape a permanent ban, Barnes first must win a hearing before USATF's
three-member Doping Hearing Board.

"They won't talk to me about a hearing date until they select a panel, which
will be at least a week," lawyer Bob Duplantis, who with his son Greg
represents Barnes, said after filing the request for the hearing.

If the doping board finds Barnes guilty, he would be suspended for life. If
the panel decides he is not guilty, he would be free to compete again.

Should the board vote against Barnes, he can go before USATF's Doping
Appeals Board, a different three-member group. The appeals board cannot hear
new evidence; it can only determine whether proper procedures were followed.

If discrepancies are found, the appeals board can dismiss the case. It then
returns to the IAAF, which can agree with the board or say Barnes is banned.
If the IAAF bans Barnes, he can go to binding arbitration.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett