Val Barnwell enters first masters nationals since drug suspension
According to a USATF email blast, online entry deadline for indoor masters nationals in Bloomington, Indiana, is 4 p.m. Eastern time Friday, Feb. 17. And: “Drug testing will be conducted at this event. Please review the information on drug testing on the meet website so you learn whether any medications you are taking may require a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) or are banned.” According to the Status of Entries page, 19 men in the M50 age group are entered in the 60. One is Val Barnwell, who recently completed a two-year drug suspension from 2009 Lahti worlds. He has entered NT — no time — as a qualifying mark. He’s also in the 200. This should be interesting.
Val Barnwell, shown at 2009 Lahti worlds, is back at masters nationals.
28 Responses
Does anyone know the rules for testing during a ban? Are they tested throughout the period? If not, it seems to me that a person who was prone to use PEDs would see a ban as carte blanc to do a deep two year training cycle with heavy drug use. He could then stop the PEDs far enough ahead of competition to test clean but he would have banked a ton of muscle mass and strength during the two years. It will be interesting to see what kind of athlete emerges from the ban: All new PRs or a slow return to reduced form?
Its a funny world.
How about we give Val a break and welcome him back?
Yes, lets give him a break and welcome him back, but how about not defending the next drug cheat? Is that a deal?
Welcome back Val,
Sully
Jim,
think Jason Giambi.
Welcome back, Val.
Yes, welcome back Val.
Welcome back Val!
Welcome back my brother,WE welcome you back with opened arms.Good luck in indy.
Did your ego get a boost Ken? Always trying to stir stuff up. Welcome back Val.
I find this site to be very curious. I remember the storm of criticism that Val received when he was caught. Yet now that drug testing is being more widely implemented, a lot of the same people who criticized Val are now saying drug testing is unfair. Val had some of the same excuses for drug usage that some of the most recent posters here have made.
I am glad that we have drug testing and that there are consequences for drug usage. Val has completed his ban and as long as he plays by the rules, I say the best of luck to him.
I am focused on the positive aspects of Masters Track and I wish that this site would put its focus back on that instead of this constant drug usage drum roll. I sure would like to read some good articles about how some of the great Masters like Sully train instead of this non-issue.
There you go, Terry. My training is unusual, to say the least. I’d be glad to share it. 64th year of competition will be completed this May. I’ll bet Ken can get this started. Smartty
Well, this posting by Ken does turn our attention to the upcoming national meet in Bloomington, an event that has not been discussed to any great length.
Will we enjoy Bloomington? How good is the facility? I have heard it is very good, but seeing is believing (I will know in 4 weeks and 1 day from today).
Turning to this post, will Val Barnwell be able to handle the other 19 sprinters in the M50 60 dash? I have been very impressed by competitors Lovell Butler and Michael Waller over the years and more recently by Kenneth Eaton. Will Val have enough?
In M55, will Phil McConkey of the New York Giants and, before that, the Naval Academy, be quick enough to beat old favorite Thomas Jones?
In M60, will Bill Collins be able to come back from his serious illness to defeat Hall of Famer Charles Allie and hurdling superstar Thad Wilson?
In M75, will Bob Lida be able to break the world record of 8.62 once again? Bob has already run 8.49 this year, but it would be nice to duplicate that or even drop farther down, possibly to as low as 8.41 or even 8.40. Yikes, the man is 75 years old.
The women also have some standouts (Renee Henderson, Phil Raschker, Kathy Bergen, etc.), but the races outlined above for the men will definitely elicit interest as we get closer to this meet (regular entry closes tomorrow).
Wishing you all the best, Val. Have a great year.
I can only speak for the open athletes but, athletes who have been suspended are required to remain in the registered testing pool during their sanction and be subject to testing. They also go through reinstatement testing in the 12 months leading up to the end of their sanction.
So, since Val has been reinstated by USATF, I think we should welcome him back with open arms.
Perhaps not an “open armed” welcome for Mr. Barnwell, but he’s served his suspension and can run in USATF meets. Let the guy compete and turn the microscope elsewhere.
For me personally, I did mean “Open arms”. Val DID something bad but that doesn’t mean we can’t hate the sin and love the sinner.
He’s paid his debt. He shouldn’t have to continue to pay it.
Welcome back Val, see you in a few weeks.
Let by-gones be by-gones. WELCOME BACK VAL!!!
Welcome back Val.
welcome back bro’ Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still and moving forward .Follow your honest convictions, and stay strong. my brother ,stay strong .
Welcome back my other big bro!
WELCOME BACK.
I am relatively very irritated over all the attention and sympathy given to Val Barnwell. Val was an athlete suspended for two years for taking drugs. Not a pretty tale. I was banned for one year for “bringing the sport into disrepute” – for protesting after the Call Room infringements and verbal abuse of the BMAF team manager at 2006 WMA Linz – a situation brought about by the refusal (which is ongoing) of my federation BMAF to communicate with me. Barnwell gets a hearing and appeal. I, because of the quirks of the British athletics system, get no hearing and appeal. Barnwell is welcomed back. I am shat on, or at least nobody in British masters circles was exactly waving the Union Jack and saying “Welcome back Anthony.” How come that all these drug-takers have more rights and get more sympathy than I do?
What is it in the psychology of the athletics community that you respect a drug-taker more than a wronged athlete who stands up and complains? Do you think drug-abusers are more macho or something?
Personally I don’t understand why you’re “irritated”. The vast majority of these comments are saying “welcome back, Val”. This has nothing to do with “sympathy for a drug-taker” as you put it. We are simply welcoming a friend back into the fold.
There is a concept that I try to practice where I “hate the sin and love the sinner”.
Also, I think everyone who comes to this page is aware of your situation – you’ve talked about it since 2006. That was SIX YEARS AGO. So, the bigger question is WHY you think we would equate Val’s return in 2012 with anything that happened in 2006?
Dexter: “I think everyone who comes to this page is aware of your situation – you’ve talked about it since 2006. That was SIX YEARS AGO.“
Good job Anthony.
Those of you lining up to welcome Mr. Barnwell back to competition might want to take a few minutes to read the article and comments at http://masterstrack.com/2010/03/8311/
I found comment 5 particularly interesting in terms of how nice it will be to have him competing again: “I guess this explains his behavior after winning the 100m in Lahti. When a another finalist in the 100m congratulated Val by patting him on the back after his victory, Val whipped around, threw off the athletes hand, yelled vulgarities and profanities at the athlete and physically threatened him if he ever touched him again. Val carried his tirade into the USA section in the stands still threatening the athlete and he was completely unconsoleable.”
Sounds like a GREAT guy who I would like to train and race with and then go out for a beer with. Or not.
ProngHorn
Oh Lordy be! The memories come flooding back. That otherwise incomprehensible reference in http://masterstrack.com/2010/03/8311/ to “MR A T WAS LASHING NOT ONLY AT VAL BUT THE RELAY TEAM.” “MR A T” was me. And faced with uncomfortable truths people wanted to”move on” (of course).
WMA President Stan Perkins had decreed that Val and the USA team need not return their relay medals. I reasonably said that the entire US relay team must return their medals. Heartened by the unfortunate pronouncement of WMA President Stan Perkins, people piled in and attacked me (of course) for everything from anti-Americanism to racism. So Ken erased my post(s)(of course) and banned me for a while (of course). For some reason WMA President Stan Perkins did change his mind and stated that the entire USA relay team must return their medals.
Incidentally, has Val (who is a magnificent runner and as such with whom I would willingly take a pint) actually returned all his medals? That seems to be a prerequisite for him competing at 2012 WMA Jyväskylä.
I agree with ProngHorn! Val displayed similar over-the-top antics –insults, aggressiveness & attempted intimidation– when I meet him at a meet back in 2007. Based on what I have experienced, read and heard from others, he is a first-class JERK!
It will be interesting to see if the drug-free version of Val is smaller and less aggressive. That is, if he ever gets re-instated and he is infact, drug-free!
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