Irvine, CA – December 7, 2021 – USA Water Polo has announced contract extensions for Adam Krikorian (Women's National Team) and Dejan Udovicic (Men's National Team) through the 2024 Olympic Games, ensuring sustained continuity within both programs.
With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
less than three years away, the two coaches will look to build from the results
of the Tokyo Olympic Games. For the USA Women, a record third-straight Olympic
Gold Medal—an unprecedented feat in women's water polo. For the USA Men, a
sixth-place finish, equaling their second-best mark over the last 25 years.
"USA Water Polo is excited to
announce the return of our two National Team head coaches. Stability is
important in team building, and keeping the leaders of our programs intact will
only help build from the efforts of the last quadrennial," said John
Abdou, USA Water Polo Chief Sport Performance Officer.
Abdou continued, "It's a great
privilege of mine both professionally and personally to continue to work with
Adam and Dejan. Professionally, they are experts and leaders in their field and
deeply tied into our game internationally. Personally, they are men of
integrity and character who have taught me a great deal and have made
themselves available as a resource to coaches and athletes all across the
country. The two-and-a-half-year road to Paris is well paved with our coaches
remaining in place."
Krikorian will set his sights on a
fourth Olympic Games, having already helped rewrite the history books when it
comes to international women's water polo. Since joining Team USA in the spring
of 2009, Krikorian has built a juggernaut. The USA women have claimed
three-straight Olympic titles (2012, 2016, 2020), four FINA World Championships
(2009, 2015, 2017, 2019), three FINA World Cups (2010, 2014, 2018), three Pan
American Games titles (2011, 2015, 2019) and 11 FINA World League Super Final
crowns (2009-2012, 2014-2019, 2021). Along the way Krikorian and Team USA
established the modern record for consecutive wins in women's water polo with
69 victorious matches in a row while also having been honored as the USOPC
Olympic Coach of the Year and as a recipient of the USOPC Jack Kelly Fair Play
Award. He's also a member of the Pac-12 All-Century Team in the coaching
category.
"I would like to thank USA Water
Polo leadership, including the board of directors, for their continued
support," said Krikorian. "The opportunity to coach these remarkable
women and the honor I feel in helping lead this program forward is not
something I take for granted. With the shortened time frame to Paris 2024 and
an eye on Los Angeles 2028, the work ahead will be extensive and undoubtedly
stimulating."
Considered one of the great water
polo tacticians in the game today, Udovicic will continue his development of Team
USA with an eye on the program's first Olympic medal since 2008. Since taking
the controls of Team USA in the spring of 2013, Udovicic has revitalized the
USA Men's National Team pipeline, opening opportunity and access to a record
number of athletes in his tenure while facilitating an unprecedented amount of
international club activity abroad. This past summer in Tokyo, Udovicic helped
Team USA improve from a 10th place finish in Rio to a sixth-place mark,
equaling the program's second-best finish over the last quarter century. Along
the way he's guided Team USA to Gold Medals at the 2015 and 2019 Pan American
Games and Silver Medals at the 2016 and 2021 FINA World League Super Final.
Well-known on the European water polo scene, Udovicic helped 19 Team USA
athletes secure club agreements during the 2020-21 season with a host of
players back in Europe capping up for the current season.
"I'd like to thank Chris Ramsey,
John Abdou, and the USA Water Polo board of directors for their continued trust
in me leading the men's program. Just as important, I must thank the men on
this team. The work they have put in over the last five years has been so
necessary in everything we have accomplished and will accomplish in the future.
This group gets better with every match, and I'm excited to build off of our
results in Tokyo. We had the youngest team at the Olympic Games, but we showed
we can compete with everyone. With our experience as a team and the important
time our athletes are spending in Europe, this will give us a strong position
headed to Paris. I'm looking forward to the challenge," said Udovicic.
The next major events for both USA
Water Polo Men's and Women's Senior National Teams are the FINA World
Championships, set for May 13-29, 2022, in Fukuoka, Japan.
About USA Water Polo
USA Water Polo, Inc., is the national
governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic
program as well as 20 different championship events annually, such as Junior
Olympics and Masters National Championships. With more than 50,000 members,
USAWP also is the sanctioning authority for more than 500 member clubs and more
than 400 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the
sport throughout the U.S., fostering grass-roots expansion while providing a
national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches, and officials. For more
information, visit www.usawaterpolo.org.
Greg Mescall
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