A New Adventure for Nicolas Thébault With Judo Canada

Montreal, March 31, 2025 – Strength and conditioning coach Nicolas Thébault is about to embark on a new chapter in his professional career. In the coming days, he will leave his position at the Institut National du Sport du Québec to take on the same role full-time with Judo Canada.

Thébault is already a familiar face to Canadian judokas, having worked with them for nearly a decade. He sees this new role as a natural progression in his career. Over the years, in addition to working with judo athletes, his role at INS Québec also led him to collaborate with fencers and karatekas.

“Moving forward, I will be able to focus solely on judo, which will allow me to dedicate much more time to each athlete. There were many things I wanted to do over the past few years, but time simply didn’t allow it. I plan to individualize training programs, spend more time reviewing tests with athletes, and maybe even travel with them,” explained Nicolas Thébault.

Originally from Tarbes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées region of France, Thébault has always been drawn to combat sports. In Europe, he taught karate in a dojo before pursuing studies in physical education and sports.

In addition to helping Canada’s top judokas stay at their peak, Thébault will also work to provide up-and-coming athletes with the necessary tools to transition to the senior national team.

“I know the athletes competing at the highest level very well, but I’m not necessarily familiar with everyone on the team yet. This will be a great opportunity to get to know them better. I’d love to work with the next generation, making sure young athletes have a solid foundation as they prepare for their first international competitions. I’m excited to take things further with all these amazing athletes.”

Earlier in his career, while working with sports teams at the Université de Montréal, Thébault gained experience in a variety of disciplines, including rugby, where he identified several parallels with judo.

“Judo has helped me work with athletes across multiple sports, but the opposite is also true. There are reaction time drills, for example, that are useful in many disciplines. In rugby, I saw a lot of shoulder and knee injuries similar to those in judo. I was able to apply rehab techniques from rugby and adapt them for judokas.”

With the journey to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games already underway, expectations for the Canadian team will be high. Some athletes, such as Arthur Margelidon and Jessica Klimkait, have recently made the decision to move up to higher weight classes at the start of this Olympic cycle. Thébault’s expertise will be even more valuable in this context.

“They’ve chosen to compete in a higher weight category for the next few years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easier! It’s a team effort involving the nutritionist, coaches, and the athlete to ensure the transition is done properly. Strength management in a new weight class is key, and they also need to be mindful of potential pitfalls.”

Over the next few weeks, Thébault will continue supporting some fencers training at the Institut National du Sport du Québec to ensure a smooth transition while also fully embracing his new responsibilities at Judo Canada.

This new challenge is a great source of motivation for him, and he hopes to see Canadian judokas continue their momentum, standing on the top of the podium as often as possible in the future.

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