Thibaut, who has guided Olympic short track speed skating programmes for various nations over 40 years, has been charged with overseeing Taekwondo Canada's high-performance programme from grassroots to elite level on the road to Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

He made his name in Canada by guiding their short track speed skaters to medal-winning performances at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics.

He went on to become high-performance director for US Speedskating, beginning in 2006, and was also involved as the head coach of the short track team for the Olympic cycle leading to the 2014 Games in Sochi.

Thibault has also been a high-performance advisor for the speed skating programmes in both Germany and Russia.

"Guy is a decisive and pragmatic leader who has played a key role as a high-performance director, coach and advisor in creating medal winning athletes for multiple nations," said Carla Anderson, executive director of Taekwondo Canada.

"Guy's credentials speak for themselves.

"He is a proven performer and will be counted on to develop the strategic programme required for our athletes to achieve their performance goals."

Thibault added: "I've always been a fan of taekwondo and have used it successfully as a training method during my time as a speed skating coach.

"I have dedicated 40 years of my life to speed skating.

"Making the switch to a totally different sport has crossed my mind many times in the last 10 years.

"I believe, and hope, my vision outside of the sport will complement the expertise of the high-quality coaching and staff already in place."

Thibault is determined to deliver a "coach-driven, athlete-focused programme" in Canada that is accountable and committed to the pursuit of excellence.

"The keys to success will be simplicity, specificity and surpassing yourself," he added.

"We need to focus on doing the simple things well.

"Mastering these basics will produce better results in the long run."