USA Water Polo is staying with coaches Adam Krikorian and Dejan Udovicic through the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The California-based governing body announced the contract extensions for Krikorian and Udovicic on Friday. It's the first major move for Jamie Davis since he took over as CEO of USA Water Polo on Oct. 1.
Los Angeles is the epicenter of American water polo, and the U.S. teams are expected to contend for gold on their home turf.
While Udovicic's return seemed like a formality after he guided the U.S. men to bronze at the 2024 Olympics, there was some question about Krikorian's situation following a heartbreaking finish for the women's team in Paris.
“Adam’s accomplishments are unparalleled, and under Dejan’s leadership in Paris last summer our men won the program’s first Olympic medal since 2008," Davis said in a release. "We have big goals on the journey to LA28 and I’m confident that Adam and Dejan will position us well for victory.”
Since Krikorian, 50, took over in 2009, the U.S. women's team has won three Olympic gold medals and six world championships. The program was considered the sport's dominant power before it went 4-3 at the Paris Games and finished fourth.
The U.S. had been the only team to medal in each women’s water polo tournament at the Olympics since it started in 2000. Speaking right after a last-second loss to the Netherlands in the bronze-medal game in August, Krikorian openly wondered if it might be time for a coaching change.
In the end, Krikorian and USA Water Polo decided to give it another go.
“I am thrilled to continue to be a part of a program that has given so much to me personally and that has had such an enormous positive influence on the sport throughout our country and the world,” Krikorian said in a release.
It has been a steady rise for the U.S. men since Udovicic, 54, took over in 2013. Led by Ben Hallock, one of the best centers in the world, the Americans are expected to be one of the top teams going into the LA Games.
“We have an excellent core group of athletes that are entering their prime (and) putting us in a position to achieve what has been my goal since the day I joined USA Water Polo: reaching the top of the podium and winning a gold medal,” Udovicic said. "We know this won’t be easy but I believe in our team and our staff and am confident the best is yet to come.”
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
FILE - United States' head coach Dejan Udovicic directs his players during the men's water polo bronze medal match between United States and Hungary, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
FILE - United States head coach Adam Krikorian directs players during a quarterfinal round win over Canada in a women's water polo match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — European leaders on Monday said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s snap decision to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany came as a surprise but is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security.
The Pentagon announced last week that it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but Trump told reporters on Saturday that “we’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
He offered no reason for the move, which blindsided NATO, but his decision came amid an escalating dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the U.S-Israeli war on Iran, and Trump’s anger that European allies have been reluctant to get involved in the conflict in the Middle East.
Asked about the decision to pull out 5,000 troops from Germany, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said: “I wouldn’t exaggerate that because I think we are expecting that Europe is taking more charge of its own security.
“I do not see those figures as dramatic, but I think they should be handled in a harmonious way inside the framework of NATO,” he told reporters in Yerevan, Armenia, where European leaders are holding a summit.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said “there has been a talk about withdrawal of U.S. troops for a long time from Europe. But of course, the timing of this announcement comes as a surprise.”
“I think it shows that we have to really strengthen the European pillar in NATO,” she said.
Asked whether she believes that Trump is trying to punish Merz, who said that the U.S. has been humiliated by Iran in talks to end the war, Kallas said: “I don’t see into the head of President Trump, so he has to explain it himself.”
Over the weekend, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said that officials at the 32-nation military alliance “are working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany.”
European allies and Canada have known since just after he came to office again last year that Trump would pull troops out of Europe — indeed some left Romania in October — but U.S. officials had pledged to coordinate any moves with their NATO allies to avoid creating a security vacuum.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte played down the move, saying that “there has been at this point disappointment on the U.S. side” about European support for the war on Iran.
Notably France, Spain and the U.K. have declined to give U.S. forces free rein to use bases on their territory to attack Iran. Spain has denied them the use of its airspace and bases there for the war.
But Rutte, who has championed Trump’s leadership at NATO despite the U.S. president's criticism of the majority of the allies, said: “I would say the Europeans have heard a message. They are now making sure that all the bilateral basing agreements are being implemented.”
Rutte added that European nations “have decided to pre-position assets, key assets, close to the theater for the next phase.”
He provided no details, but the Europeans have insisted they would not help police the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy trade route, until the war is over.
French President Emmanuel Macron said “if the United States is ready to reopen Hormuz, that’s great. That’s what we’ve been asking for since the beginning.” But he underlined that the Europeans are not ready to get involved in any operation “that does not seem clear to us.”
In another sign of friction with Merz, Trump has accused the EU of not complying with its U.S. trade deal and announced plans to increase tariffs next week on cars and trucks produced in the bloc to 25%, a move that would be particularly damaging to Germany, a major automobile manufacturer.
Without mentioning Trump or the United States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listed recent trade deals that the bloc has sealed with Australia and India, and is now working on with Mexico.
“With like-minded friends, you have stable, reliable supply chains and Europe has the biggest network of free trade agreements,” von der Leyen, who is from Germany, told reporters.
Cook reported from Brussels.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
