Jeff Thue began his athletic career in high school as a track and field athlete and basketball player before taking up wrestling in 1984. The following year he won the Canadian Midget National Championship in the 78+ kg category and moved up to the junior level in 1986, where he was runner-up in the heavyweight division. He entered Simon Fraser University in British Columbia in 1988 and was crowned Canadian senior national super-heavyweight champion that same year. His breakthrough on the international stage came in 1991: in addition to earning the super-heavyweight freestyle and Greco-Roman titles at the Canadian Championships, he won a bronze medal in former category and finished sixith in the latter at the World Championships. His most successful year, however, was 1992 when, in addition to defending his Canadian freestyle title, he earned a silver medal at the Summer Olympics in the super-heavyweight division of the freestyle wrestling tournament, losing in the final to Bruce Baumgartner of the United States. He also graduated from Simon Fraser that year and retired from active competition soon after. He was made a member of the Saskatchewan Sports (1997), Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association (2003), and Simon Fraser University (2012) Halls of Fame.
Canada