Nick Walker makes an announcement from his Orlando hotel room today. / Instagram
Nick Walker is out of the Mr. Olympia. Just three days before Friday’s prejudging in Orlando, a somber, lean-faced Walker announced in an Instagram video this morning that he will, unfortunately, not be stepping on stage in bodybuilding’s ultimate contest due to a hamstring tear. Walker was third in the 2022 Mr. Olympia and fifth in 2021. It was already going to be a struggle for him to match or better last year’s third with the emergence of Samson Dauda as likely top three finisher. (Dauda was first and Walker second at the Arnold Classic in March.) Now, he stated that the injury was going to make that impossible, and he did not want to drop down in the standings.
We quote from Walker’s video statement:
“It’s with a heavy heart I won’t be stepping stage this year due to unforeseen and unfortunate reasons that remind us we’re only human. I have some very unfortunate news to deliver to you guys. I will not be competing in this year’s Mr. Olympia due to a hamstring tear that I did right before we actually came here [to Orlando]. I tried to push through it, I tried to do whatever I could, get all the treatments I could, literally did whatever it takes, but it gradually got worse. It did not progress in any shape or form. Me and my team thought it was best we just pull out [of the contest], because we knew there was no shot of us placing top three at this point or higher.
“We do not want to drop placings. With how severe this tear is, we thought it was the best case….This was a very hard decision to make. This prep was very smooth, very easy to be honest. I kept telling [coach] Matt [Jansen], every day, ‘I’m going to win your first one.’ Then the last second, this happens. And it just sucks, because you don’t know what to do. If I know myself, it’s just another reason for me to come back stronger, another reason to come back better, and that’s what I’ll do.”
We at The Barbell wish Nick Walker a full and speedy recovery. He is the second member of last year’s Mr. Olympia top five to drop out. Last month, two-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay (fifth place last year) announced that he would not be competing this year. Nevertheless, this promises to be an exciting Mr. O with at least four top contenders for the crown: defending champ Hadi Choopan, last year’s runner-up Derek Lunsford, fast-rising Samson Dauda, and 2019 champ Brandon Curry.
Related: 2023 Mr. Olympia Predictions
