Sumitada Moriguchi

Nagaoka and Moriguchi at the2025 World Championships
Personal information
Native name	森口 澄士
Born	(2001-12-29)December 29, 2001 (age 23) Kyoto,Japan
Home town	Kyoto
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Japan
Discipline	Pair skating (since 2022) Men's singles (2012–23)
Partner	Yuna Nagaoka (since 2023) Haruna Murakami (2022–23) Ikura Kushida (2021)
Coach	Dmitri Savin Fedor Klimov Sofia Evdokimova Mie Hamada Cathy Reed Satsuki Muramoto Hiroaki Sato
Skating club	Kinoshita Academy
Began skating	2010
Japan Championships 2022–23 Osaka Pairs 2023–24 Nagano Pairs 2024–25 Osaka Pairs

Sumitada Moriguchi (森口 澄士,Moriguchi Sumitada; born December 29, 2001) is a Japanesepair skater. With partnerYuna Nagaoka, he is the2025 Asian Winter Games bronze medalist, the2023–24 Japan national champion and the2024–25 Japan national silver medalist.^[1]

With former partnerHaruna Murakami, he is the2022 JGP Poland I bronze medalist and the2022–23 Japan national champion on both the senior and junior levels.^[2]

Moriguchi was born on 29 December 2001 inKyoto,Japan.^[3]

He studied Faculty of Commerce atDoshisha University before graduating in March 2024.^[4][5]

Moriguchi began figure skating in 2010 after being inspired by watchingDaisuke Takahashi win the bronze medal at the2010 Winter Olympics. His first coach was Yoko Ishii.^[4][6]

He competed at the2016–17,2018–19, and the2019–20 Japan Junior Championships, respectively finishing twenty-ninth, twentieth, and nineteenth at those events. Following the latter season, Moriguchi began training underMie Hamada.^[7][8]

He would go on to compete at the2020–21, placing twelfth. In the spring of 2021, Moriguchi decided to try pairs skating after Hamada suggested that he give the discipline a try due to his long limbs and naturally strong back. He initially teamed up withIkura Kushida, however, their partnership ended in the fall of that year before they got the chance to compete together.^[4][9][7] He went on to place thirteenth at the2021–22 Japan Championships in the men's singles event.^[10][8]

At the suggestion ofMie Hamada, Moriguchi decided to team up with fellow Hamada studentHaruna Murakami. Coached by Hamada,Narumi Takahashi,Bruno Marcotte, andBrian Shales, the pair debuted on the2022–23 Junior Grand Prix.^[11][3] The finished fourth at the2022 JGP Czech Republic and third at the2022 JGP Poland I. They then went on to compete at the2022–23 Japan Junior Championships, winning the gold medal.^[3]

Although initially listed as alternates to compete at the2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final inTurin,Italy, they were ultimately called up to compete due to the withdrawal ofCanadian pair team,Ava Kemp /Yonathan Elizarov.^[12] At the Final, Murakami/Moriguchi placed fifth in the short program and third in the free skate, finishing in fourth place overall.

They went on to compete at the2022–23 Japan Championships, which they won, afterRiku Miura /Ryuichi Kihara were forced to withdraw due to flight delays.^[13][3] Moriguchi also competed in the men's singles event at Nationals and finished seventh, his highest result to date.

Selected to compete at the2023 World Junior Championships inCalgary,Alberta, Murakami/Moriguchi finished fourth after placing sixth in the short program and fourth in the free skate.^[3]

Moriguchi went on to compete at the2023 Triglav Trophy, where he won the silver medal behindNozomu Yoshioka.

Following the season, it was announced that Murakami/Moriguchi had parted ways due to Moriguchi no longer being age eligible to compete on the junior level and Murakami being age ineligible to compete on the senior level for another three years.^[14]

In April 2023, pairs coach,Bruno Marcotte suggested that Moriguchi try pair skating withYuna Nagaoka after noticing her potential as a pairs skater during a training camp that was organized by theJapan Skating Federation. Following a successful tryout, the pair decided to team up with their long-term goal being to compete at the2026 Winter Olympics. They were officially announced as a pair team in May 2022. It was also announced that Nagaoka/Moriguchi would primarily train at the Kinoshita Academy, where they would work with coachesMie Hamada,Cathy Reed,Satsuki Muramoto, andHiroaki Sato, while also making frequent trips toOakville, Ontario, Canada to work with pair skating coaches Bruno Marcotte andBrian Shales at the Oakville Skating Club.^{[7][15][16][17][18]}

They debuted as a pair at the Japan Eastern Sectionals, which they won. Elected as a host pick, Nagaoka/Moriguchi made theirGrand Prix debut at the2023 NHK Trophy. They scored 45.36 for their short program, 90.03 for their free, and 135.39 overall, placing eighth. They went on to win gold at the2023–24 Japanese National Championships.^[19]

They were named to the2024 World team on the condition that they could obtain their technical minimums at the2024 Bavarian Open or the2024 International Challenge Cup.^[20][21] At these events, Nagaoka/Moriguchi finished fourth and sixth respectively. Although the pair scored the scored the minimum technical element score needed for the free skate, they failed to score the minimum technical element score for the short program. As a result, they were unable to compete at the 2024 World Championships.^[22][1]

Nagaoka/Moriguchi began their season by competing at the2024 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition, where they finished eighth.^[1] Going on to compete on the2024–25 Grand Prix series, Nagaoka/Moriguchi scored personal bests in all competition segments at the2024 NHK Trophy and finish in seventh place overall.^[19] The team would also surpass the minimum technical element score, making them eligible to compete at the World Championships.^[23] Initially only assigned one Grand Prix event, Nagaoka/Moriguchi's names were assigned to the2024 Finlandia Trophy days before the event following the withdrawal of Australian pair teamGolubeva/Giotopoulos Moore.^[24][25] At the event, the pair place eighth of the eight pair teams in the short program but would score a personal best free skate by almost eight points, finishing third in that competition segment and moving up to sixth place overall.^[19][26]

In late December, the pair won the silver medal at the2024–25 Japan Championships behindMiura/Kihara.^[27][28] They were subsequently named to the Four Continents and World teams.^[29][30]

Selected to compete at the2025 Asian Winter Games inHarbin, China, Nagaoka/Moriguchi won the bronze medal behindGeynish/Chigirev andRyom/Han.^[31]

At the2025 Four Continents Championships inSeoul, South Korea, Nagaoka/Moriguchi finished in seventh place following a ninth-place short program and a sixth-place free skate. Going on to compete at the2025 World Championships inBoston, Massachusetts, United States the following month, Nagaoka/Moriguchi placed twenty-second in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.^[19] Following this disappointing result, Nagaoka considered quitting the sport but decided to continue following the encouragement of Moriguchi.^[32]

Feeling the need for a change and hoping to improve their consistency, Nagaoka/Moriguchi decided to make a coaching change fromBruno Marcotte andBrian Shales to Dmitri Savin,Fedor Klimov, andSofia Evdokimova.^[33][32]

Nagaoka/Moriguchi kicked off their season by winning the bronze medal at the2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup. A couple weeks following that event, they competed at theISU Skate to Milano, the final qualifying event for the2026 Winter Olympics. There, they managed to capture the bronze medal thus securing a second Olympic berth for Japanese pair skating.^[34][19]

The following month, Nagaoka/Moriguchi placed fourth at2025 NHK Trophy, earning new personal bests in the short program, free skate, and total scores in the process.^[35]

Two weeks later, Nagaoka/Moriguchi finished fourth at2025 Finlandia Trophy. "We are very glad that the technical score and the PCS were both over 60," Moriguchi said after the free skate. "We know that there is room to improve on the throw jumps and also on the levels."^[36]

Current personal best scores are highlighted inbold.

Results in the2023–24 season ^[19]

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Nov 24–26, 2023	2023 NHK Trophy	8	45.36	8	90.03	8	135.39
Dec 20–24, 2023	2023–24 Japan Championships	1	56.07	1	117.57	1	173.64
Jan 30–Feb 4, 2024	2024 Bavarian Open	5	48.90	4	100.35	4	149.25
Feb 22–25, 2024	2024 Challenge Cup	6	51.98	4	106.46	6	158.44

Results in the2024–25 season ^[19]

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 3–4, 2024	2024 CS John Nicks Pairs	8	55.92	8	102.98	8	158.90
Nov 8–10, 2024	2024 NHK Trophy	5	60.32	7	112.15	7	172.47
Nov 15–17, 2024	2024 Finlandia Trophy	8	51.75	3	120.05	6	171.80
Dec 19–22, 2024	2024–25 Japan Championships	2	61.82	2	114.86	2	176.68
Feb 11–13, 2025	2025 Asian Winter Games	2	58.49	3	109.86	3	168.35
Feb 19–23, 2025	2025 Four Continents Championships	9	57.29	6	117.47	7	174.76
Mar 25–30, 2025	2025 World Championships	22	51.10	-	-	22	51.10

Results in the2025–26 season ^[19]

Date	Event	SP		FS		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 5–7, 2025	2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup	3	66.27	3	126.50	3	192.77
Sep 18–21, 2025	2025 ISU Skate to Milano	4	62.68	3	115.98	3	178.66
Nov 7–9, 2025	2025 NHK Trophy	4	71.52	3	130.59	4	202.11

Current personal best scores are highlighted inbold.

• Yuna Nagaoka / Sumitada Moriguchi at theInternational Skating Union
• Yuna Nagaoka / Sumitada Moriguchi at SkatingScores.com
• Haruna Murakami / Sumitada Moriguchi at theInternational Skating Union
• Haruna Murakami / Sumitada Moriguchi at SkatingScores.com
• Sumitada Moriguchi at theInternational Skating Union
• Sumitada Moriguchi at SkatingScores.com
• Sumitada Moriguchi atJapan Skating Federation
• Sumitada Moriguchi at theHarbin 2025 Asian Winter Games
• Sumitada Moriguchi – Harbin 2025 atTeam Japan(in Japanese) (in English)
• Sumitada Moriguchi onInstagram

• 2001 births
• Living people
• Japanese male pair skaters
• Japanese male single skaters
• Doshisha University alumni
• Figure skaters from Kyoto
• Figure skaters at the 2025 Asian Winter Games
• Medalists at the 2025 Asian Winter Games
• Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan
• Asian Games medalists in figure skating

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• Articles containing Japanese-language text
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• Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja)