Dwayne Walker is hoping that his nomination for the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence can be a shot in the arm for the sport of bodybuilding and fitness in Jamaica.

Walker, who was among the top-three at the IFBB Tampa Pro tournament in August, is among seven nominees for the prestigious award that recognizes outstanding in sports among the nation’s youth.

2019 World Championships long jump champion Tajay Gayle, kickboxer Richard Stone, water-polo player Rachel Minto-Walker, chess player Rachel Miller, karate athlete Jasmine Barrows, and surfer Elishama Beckford are the other nominees.

Walker, who won the Mr Olympia Amateur title in 2018, believes that his nomination is a fillip for the sport.

“I'm truly honored that I could be nominated for such a prestigious award in the category of sport, for a sport that is not widely popular or recognized in Jamaica,” said Walker, who trains in Florida at the highly regarded BBL gym run by Jamaican-born trainer Loleta Riley in Pembroke Pines.

“Locally, bodybuilding needed life and I put my heart in it with a little dash of swag and created much-needed traction.”

Though competition was restricted by the Covid-19 pandemic Walker used the downtime to improve on his physique. That improvement was tested at the Tampa Pro tournament where he had finished out of the placings in 2019.