Shawn Ray discussed Nick Walker’s immediate future for the 2024 season.
Shawn Ray is a veteran in bodybuilding who continues to remain up to date with the current happenings in the sport. He has discussed many hot topics in the fitness world and this includes early prospects for the 2024 Olympia. The calendar has turned and the biggest competition of the year remains at the forefront. Ray’s recent comments came about Nick Walker and his hopes for this year.
Walker quickly rose to the top of the Men’s Open division in a relatively short amount of time. In 2021, he was crowned champion of the Arnold Classic before hitting the Olympia. He has two top-five finishes in each of the last two years and was a hopeful for this year as well. Unfortunately, Walker suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of the 2023 Olympia.
During the Olympia Weekend, Walker shared that he would not be competing during the Arnold Classic as his goal was the Olympia. He is not qualified for the event but believes he should be invited.
“I DON’T WANT TO BE ARROGANT BUT I THINK I DESERVE ONE [SPECIAL INVITE], TO BE HONEST. IT WASN’T LIKE I DROPPED OUT, RIGHT? THIS IS SOMETHING I COULDN’T CONTROL. THIS IS BEYOND MY CONTROL AND I LIKE TO THINK I BRING A LOT OF EXCITEMENT TO THE SHOWS AS WELL.”
It is unknown what this process will be like this year but Shawn Ray spoke on Walker’s future and the difficulty he might have returning.
Shawn Ray: “There Is No Guarantee”
There are unknowns across sports and this includes bodybuilding. During a recent appearance on OlympiaTV, Ray highlighted this fact and claims that there are no guarantees for Nick Walker.
“There is no guarantee that Nick Walker makes it back to that Mr. Olympia stage. Would we like to see that happen? Yes. Will he be as good as he was? We don’t know. We don’t know cause if he does the same thing, the same result can happen.”
View this post on Instagram
Shawn Ray continued to discuss hypotheticals and how he is not for them in bodybuilding. Walker did not take the stage during the 2023 Olympia so it is impossible to know what the result would have been.
“How many times do you think you should have won? This is what it is. It is all hypothetical. Everybody wants to say what about? I hate what about-isms. Nick wasn’t there.
This hypothetical stuff about if this guy was there, if that guy was there, when you’re there, that’s when the rubber hits the road. I want to do this again in Las Vegas with you guys 24 hours before showtime because then we are going to know what happens in Ohio.”
Nick Walker is not qualified for the 2024 Olympia and will have to work to gain it if he is not offered a special invite. It will be interesting to see how his physique progresses following this injury as well.
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
