Sumitada Moriguchi
| File:Yuna Nagaoka & Sumitada Moriguchi 2025 Worlds Short Program 04.jpg Nagaoka and Moriguchi at the 2025 World Championships | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native name | 森口 澄士 | |||||||||||
| Born | December 29, 2001 | |||||||||||
| Home town | Kyoto | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||
| Country | Japan 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 | |||||||||||
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Sumitada Moriguchi (森口 澄士, Moriguchi Sumitada; born December 29, 2001) is a Japanese pair skater. With partner Yuna Nagaoka, he is the 2025 Asian Winter Games bronze medalist, the 2023–24 Japan national champion and the 2024–25 Japan national silver medalist.[1]
With former partner Haruna Murakami, he is the 2022 JGP Poland I bronze medalist and the 2022–23 Japan national champion on both the senior and junior levels.[2]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Moriguchi was born on 29 December 2001 in Kyoto, Japan.[3]
He studied Faculty of Commerce at Doshisha University before graduating in March 2024.[4][5]
Career
[edit | edit source]Early career
[edit | edit source]Moriguchi began figure skating in 2010 after being inspired by watching Daisuke Takahashi win the bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics. His first coach was Yoko Ishii.[4][6]
He competed at the 2016–17, 2018–19, and the 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships, respectively finishing twenty-ninth, twentieth, and nineteenth at those events. Following the latter season, Moriguchi began training under Mie Hamada.[7][8]
He would go on to compete at the 2020–21, 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 with Ikura 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 the 2021–22 Japan Championships in the men's singles event.[10][8]
Partnership with Murakami
[edit | edit source]2022–23 season
[edit | edit source]At the suggestion of Mie Hamada, Moriguchi decided to team up with fellow Hamada student Haruna Murakami. Coached by Hamada, Narumi Takahashi, Bruno Marcotte, and Brian Shales, the pair debuted on the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix.[11][3] The finished fourth at the 2022 JGP Czech Republic and third at the 2022 JGP Poland I. They then went on to compete at the 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships, winning the gold medal.[3]
Although initially listed as alternates to compete at the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy, they were ultimately called up to compete due to the withdrawal of Canadian 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 the 2022–23 Japan Championships, which they won, after Riku 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 the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, 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 the 2023 Triglav Trophy, where he won the silver medal behind Nozomu 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]
Partnership with Nagaoka
[edit | edit source]2023–2024 season
[edit | edit source]In April 2023, pairs coach, Bruno Marcotte suggested that Moriguchi try pair skating with Yuna Nagaoka after noticing her potential as a pairs skater during a training camp that was organized by the Japan Skating Federation. Following a successful tryout, the pair decided to team up with their long-term goal being to compete at the 2026 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 coaches Mie Hamada, Cathy Reed, Satsuki Muramoto, and Hiroaki Sato, while also making frequent trips to Oakville, Ontario, Canada to work with pair skating coaches Bruno Marcotte and Brian 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 their Grand Prix debut at the 2023 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 the 2023–24 Japanese National Championships.[19]
They were named to the 2024 World team on the condition that they could obtain their technical minimums at the 2024 Bavarian Open or the 2024 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]
2024–2025 season
[edit | edit source]Nagaoka/Moriguchi began their season by competing at the 2024 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition, where they finished eighth.[1] Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Nagaoka/Moriguchi scored personal bests in all competition segments at the 2024 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 the 2024 Finlandia Trophy days before the event following the withdrawal of Australian pair team Golubeva/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 the 2024–25 Japan Championships behind Miura/Kihara.[27][28] They were subsequently named to the Four Continents and World teams.[29][30]
Selected to compete at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, Nagaoka/Moriguchi won the bronze medal behind Geynish/Chigirev and Ryom/Han.[31]
At the 2025 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, 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 the 2025 World Championships in Boston, 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 from Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales to Dmitri Savin, Fedor Klimov, and Sofia Evdokimova.[33][32]
2025–2026 season
[edit | edit source]Nagaoka/Moriguchi kicked off their season by winning the bronze medal at the 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup. A couple weeks following that event, they competed at the ISU Skate to Milano, the final qualifying event for the 2026 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 at 2025 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 at 2025 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]
Programs
[edit | edit source]Pair skating with Yuna Nagaoka
[edit | edit source]| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–2026 [37][38] |
|
|
|
| 2024–2025 [39] |
| ||
| 2023–2024 [18] |
|
Pair skating with Haruna Murakami
[edit | edit source]| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 [3] |
|
Singles skating
[edit | edit source]| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 [8] |
|
Jekyll & Hyde:
|
| 2021–2022 [6][8] |
| |
| 2020–2021 [8] |
|
|
Competitive highlights
[edit | edit source]- GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
- JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
- TBD – Assigned
- WD – Withdrew from competition
Pair skating with Yuna Nagaoka
[edit | edit source]| Season | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 22nd | ||
| Four Continents Championships | 7th | ||
| Japan Championships | 1st | 2nd | TBD |
| GP Finland | 6th | 4th | |
| GP NHK Trophy | 8th | 7th | 4th |
| CS John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 8th | ||
| CS Kinoshita Group Cup | 3rd | ||
| Asian Winter Games | 3rd | ||
| Bavarian Open | 4th | ||
| Challenge Cup | 6th | ||
| Skate to Milano | 3rd |
Pair skating with Haruna Murakami
[edit | edit source]| International: Junior[2] | |
|---|---|
| Event | 22–23 |
| Junior Worlds | 4th |
| JGP Final | 4th |
| JGP Czech Republic | 4th |
| JGP Poland | 3rd |
| National | |
| Japan | 1st |
| Japan Junior | 1st |
Men's singles
[edit | edit source]| International[10] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | ||||
| Triglav Trophy | 2nd | ||||||||||
| National[40] | |||||||||||
| Japan | 12th | 13th | 7th | ||||||||
| Japan Junior | 29th | 20th | 19th | ||||||||
Detailed results
[edit | edit source]| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 202.11 | 2025 NHK Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 71.52 | 2025 NHK Trophy |
| TES | 39.94 | 2025 NHK Trophy | |
| PCS | 31.58 | 2025 NHK Trophy | |
| Free skating | TSS | 130.59 | 2025 NHK Trophy |
| TES | 66.22 | 2025 NHK Trophy | |
| PCS | 64.37 | 2025 NHK Trophy |
Pair skating
[edit | edit source]With Nagaoka
[edit | edit source]| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 24–26, 2023 | Japan 2023 NHK Trophy | 8 | 45.36 | 8 | 90.03 | 8 | 135.39 |
| Dec 20–24, 2023 | Japan 2023–24 Japan Championships | 1 | 56.07 | 1 | 117.57 | 1 | 173.64 |
| Jan 30–Feb 4, 2024 | Germany 2024 Bavarian Open | 5 | 48.90 | 4 | 100.35 | 4 | 149.25 |
| Feb 22–25, 2024 | Netherlands 2024 Challenge Cup | 6 | 51.98 | 4 | 106.46 | 6 | 158.44 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 3–4, 2024 | United States 2024 CS John Nicks Pairs | 8 | 55.92 | 8 | 102.98 | 8 | 158.90 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | Japan 2024 NHK Trophy | 5 | 60.32 | 7 | 112.15 | 7 | 172.47 |
| Nov 15–17, 2024 | Finland 2024 Finlandia Trophy | 8 | 51.75 | 3 | 120.05 | 6 | 171.80 |
| Dec 19–22, 2024 | Japan 2024–25 Japan Championships | 2 | 61.82 | 2 | 114.86 | 2 | 176.68 |
| Feb 11–13, 2025 | China 2025 Asian Winter Games | 2 | 58.49 | 3 | 109.86 | 3 | 168.35 |
| Feb 19–23, 2025 | South Korea 2025 Four Continents Championships | 9 | 57.29 | 6 | 117.47 | 7 | 174.76 |
| Mar 25–30, 2025 | United States 2025 World Championships | 22 | 51.10 | - | - | 22 | 51.10 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 5–7, 2025 | Japan 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup | 3 | 66.27 | 3 | 126.50 | 3 | 192.77 |
| Sep 18–21, 2025 | China 2025 ISU Skate to Milano | 4 | 62.68 | 3 | 115.98 | 3 | 178.66 |
| Nov 7–9, 2025 | Japan 2025 NHK Trophy | 4 | 71.52 | 3 | 130.59 | 4 | 202.11 |
| Nov 21–23, 2025 | Finland 2025 Finlandia Trophy | 5 | 67.53 | 4 | 125.59 | 4 | 193.12 |
With Murakami
[edit | edit source]Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
| 2022–23 season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total |
| February 27–March 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | Junior | 6 55.69 |
4 99.02 |
4 154.71 |
| December 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | Senior | 1 54.21 |
1 107.86 |
1 162.07 |
| December 8–11, 2022 | 2022–23 JGP Final | Junior | 5 46.80 |
3 102.23 |
4 149.03 |
| November 25–27, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships | Junior | 1 52.72 |
1 96.36 |
1 149.08 |
| September 28–October 1, 2022 | 2022 JGP Poland I | Junior | 4 47.94 |
2 92.41 |
3 140.35 |
| August 31–September 3, 2022 | 2022 JGP Czech Republic | Junior | 5 42.34 |
3 87.50 |
4 129.84 |
Singles skating
[edit | edit source]Senior results
[edit | edit source]| 2022–23 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| April 13–16, 2023 | 2023 Triglav Trophy | 2 79.47 |
2 153.32 |
2 232.79 |
| December 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 10 76.31 |
5 165.32 |
7 241.63 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 22–26, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships | 13 76.14 |
16 125.16 |
13 201.30 |
| 2020–21 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 23–27, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Championships | 17 66.18 |
12 129.92 |
12 196.10 |
Junior results
[edit | edit source]| 2019–20 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 15–27, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships | 19 47.50 |
19 97.58 |
19 145.08 |
| 2018–19 season | ||||
| November 23–25, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships | 24 47.05 |
18 91.62 |
20 138.67 |
| 2016–17 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 23–25, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Junior Championships | 29 37.57 |
– | 29 37.57 |
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Yuna Nagaoka / Sumitada Moriguchi at the International Skating Union Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Yuna Nagaoka / Sumitada Moriguchi at SkatingScores.com
- Haruna Murakami / Sumitada Moriguchi at the International Skating Union Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Haruna Murakami / Sumitada Moriguchi at SkatingScores.com
- Sumitada Moriguchi at the International Skating Union Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Sumitada Moriguchi at SkatingScores.com
- Sumitada Moriguchi at Japan Skating Federation
- Sumitada Moriguchi at the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games
- Sumitada Moriguchi – Harbin 2025 at Team Japan (in Japanese) (in English)
- Sumitada Moriguchi on InstagramLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).