CHICAGO • Right after the Summer Olympics, Adam Krikorian was done. Worn down by coaching the U.S. women’s water polo team through a pandemic, he thought it might be time to try something new.

Some two months after Tokyo, long after the glow of a third consecutive gold medal had worn off, Krikorian was still in the same place. Then, as he examined what went right and wrong during the previous Olympic cycle, everything began to change.

That’s how he got from the exhaustion he felt after the U.S. routed Spain 14-5 in the Tokyo final on Aug. 7 to Tuesday, when USA Water Polo announced Krikorian and men’s coach Dejan Udovicic are staying on through the 2024 Olympics.

The continuity at the top — far from a given after the challenges in the runup to this year’s Games — is a coup for each program with Paris coming up on the horizon. While the women are going for an unprecedented fourth consecutive title, the U.S. men are looking to build on a sixth-place finish this year.

Udovicic, 51, was hired in 2013 after coaching Serbia to bronze at the London Olympics. The U.S. stumbled in Rio, going 2-3 and finishing 10th, but it showed signs of growth in Tokyo. Led by Ben Hallock and helped by a fortuitous draw, the Americans reached the quarterfinals before they were eliminated from medal contention with a 12-8 loss to Spain.

Much of the U.S. roster played for club teams in Europe for the bulk of their training for this year’s Olympics, instead of spending more time together as a national team. It was a departure from past practice — one Udovicic plans to continue.

Krikorian, 47, played at UCLA and coached the men’s and women’s teams for the Bruins before he was hired as U.S. coach in March 2009.