From triumphs to heartbreak, the 2025 Mr. Olympia left fans with plenty to talk about in its aftermath. On October 14, coach Kyle Wilkes took ownership of Nick Walker‘s drop to sixth place, stressing that it was due to a mistimed peak.
Heading into the Mr. Olympia, Walker was among the favorites to win. His momentum was scorching hot before the competition, having pushed Derek Lunsford in a sudden-death tie-breaker at the Pittsburgh Pro. To stamp his entry for the Olympia, Walker won the New York Pro for a third time.
Despite his strong season, bodybuilding veterans still expressed doubt about Walker’s chances. At best, Shawn Ray saw “The Mutant” taking a spot in the top six, whereas Bob Cicherillo, who MC’d the Olympia, insisted all season that he’d finish seventh or eighth.
Ultimately, they weren’t far off with their predictions, with Walker securing sixth place. With time to process the results, Walker’s coach was the first from his corner to speak out on what happened.
Level Up Your Fitness: Join our 💪 strong community in Fitness Volt Newsletter. Get daily inspiration, expert-backed workouts, nutrition tips, the latest in strength sports, and the support you need to reach your goals. Subscribe for free!
Coach Kyle Wilkes Speaks Out on Nick Walker’s ‘Mistimed Peak’ at 2025 Mr. Olympia
In the Instagram post, Wilkes said they mistimed Walker’s peak and took responsibility for not presenting him to his full potential.
“Nick Walker and what occurred this past weekend, the reality of it for those who watched the show Friday, it was clearly not the best Nick we have seen to date.
It was not what we were expecting, nor what I truly desired as a coach. So, the point of this video is to take full ownership of the peak being mistimed, and therefore not presenting Nick to be at what he was fully capable of being.”
While Walker improved for the finals, Wilkes shared that they couldn’t recover from the punch they took at prejudging.
“A lot of you have probably noticed the differences from Friday into Saturday. He presented a much cleaner, Nick-like presentation on Saturday. However, the punch that we took on Friday was one we couldn’t recover from in dual fashion when it comes to judging.”
“The reason Nick and the timing was a little different compared to what we were familiar with seeing in Pittsburgh, which I truly believe was the best Nick Walker to date, comes down to merely the fact that the show’s prejudging was at night.”
This was Wilkes’ first time training an Olympia-caliber competitor, and he wants to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“It’s my first time having a competitor on the Olympia stage. Consider me a rookie when it comes to timing in that respect; however, as we saw, we corrected rather quickly what needed to be corrected, and moving forward, we’re simply back to the drawing board to ensure that this does not happen again.”
He mentioned that Walker took ‘this one on the chin,’ and was determined to come back to the finals improved.
“Nick, being the perennial athlete he is, took this one on the chin. I know there’s a lot of messages pointing to Nick not being at his best and it being more of his fault, but the reality is, it’s a two-way street here. I’m the coach. Nick is someone that is truly the best athlete you can ask for from a coaching perspective in bodybuilding.
He does everything to the T. Nick, being the athlete that he is, as soon as we got off the stage Friday, we regrouped emotionally, obviously both disappointed, and Nick being such a fantastic athlete, simply said, tell me what I need to do to be better for tomorrow and let’s do it.”
Moving forward, Wilkes emphasized that they won’t make this mistake twice.
“Sure enough, pictures don’t even do it justice, the transformation that we had in just a short period of time. Moving forward, I don’t think I’ll make the same mistake twice.”
“I’m taking ownership for something that is under my control,” he adds.
It will be interesting to see how Walker responds to adversity following the 2025 Mr. Olympia. The next big event—Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2026 Arnold Classic—will take place in March, where he will award an unprecedented $750,000 purse to the Men’s Open champion.
In time, fans will get to hear from Nick Walker after taking sixth at his third Mr. Olympia contest. It remains uncertain if he’s considering the 2026 Arnold Classic, but it would allow him an opportunity to bounce back against some big-name bodybuilders.
Relive every moment from the 2025 Mr. Olympia, including prejudging, highlights, expert analysis, and full results. Explore our Olympia hub: FitnessVolt.com/olympia. For minute-by-minute coverage, follow our Live Blog.
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
YouTube for even more content.
