Émile Nadeau

Biography

Émile Nadeau made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2022 where he placed 17th. A month later he won the bronze medal in his first appearance at the FIS Junior World Championships.

Nadeau joined Freestyle Canada’s national next gen team in 2020. He got his first taste of FIS World Cup competition in February 2020 in Deer Valley, Utah before joining the circuit almost full time in 2020-21. He came close to earning his first career World Cup podium in February 2021 when he finished fourth in Deer Valley. It was also in 2021 that he competed at his first FIS World Championships. Clearly comfortable in Deer Valley, he finished fifth there in January 2022 for his best result of the 2021-22 season. 

Nadeau was the top Canadian in men’s aerials at the 2023 World Championships, placing 10^th. A month later, he earned his first World Cup podium, finishing third in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He would later earn third place finishes in back-to-back years on home snow in Lac-Beauport in 2024 and 2025.

Just a few days after that second podium in Lac-Beauport, Nadeau got lost in the air during training and landed on his stomach with his head tucked in, breaking his C7 vertebra. He wore a brace for 12 weeks and was back in action at the start of the 2025-26 season.

Nadeau finished second to teammate Miha Fontaine in the 2019-20 Nor-Am Cup overall aerials rankings after winning medals in three of eight events, including one victory. He recorded two more Nor-Am Cup podiums in February 2021. 

A Little More About Émile

Getting into the Sport: Started skiing at age 7… For his first three winters, would spend time after his lessons on the moguls run and in the freestyle park for fun… Decided to change mountains to one that had a freestyle skiing team when he was 10… After some lessons on a trampoline, he was invited to start training in aerials by coach Rémi Bélanger… Was recruited to the Quebec provincial team in 2018… At the first World Cup he attended was impressed with the control that aerialists had on their twists and flips no matter how good or bad their takeoff was… Outside Interests: Enjoys playing golf and climbing… Odds and Ends: Favourite quote: “If you can’t find a way, make a way”…