NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara men's and women's cross country and women's track and field head coach Christine Kloiber has announced the hiring of Rakieem Salaam as an assistant coach.

"We're very excited and fortunate to have Rakieem join our program," Kloiber said. "He is incredibly passionate about the sport and has a wealth of background within high-level athletics that he will be able to share with the athletes. The past couple of COVID-related years have been a huge disruption to the trajectory of our teams and we are 100 percent intent on rebuilding back to who we were and what we were capable of three years ago. Rakieem will be an integral part of this as his energy, commitment and knowledge base of the sport will ensure that we not only actualize those goals but look forward to the next level of success."

Salaam most recently coached boys' and girls' sprints, hurdles and relays at Southmoore High School. In 2022, Salaam coached the state champion in the 100m, who was a freshman. In 2021, he coached the Oklahoma Girls' Gatorade Athlete of the Year, Jada Atkinson. She swept the state meet in the 100m and 200m dash. She broke the state record in the 100m dash. He also coached the boys' relay team that won the 4x400m state title.

Prior to Southmoore, Salaam spent time at Broken Arrow High School in 2019, where he coached sprints and relays. He helped the boys' team to conference, regional and state title wins and the girls' team to conference and regional championships and a second place state meet finish.

Salaam has had a decorated indoor and outdoor career. Prior to getting into coaching, Salaam ran for Adidas from 2011-17 and competed for Team USA. He was a two-time Olympic Trials Qualifier (2012, 2016) and he won a silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the World Championships held in Moscow, Russia in 2013.

Salaam attended the University of Oklahoma, where he competed in indoor and outdoor track and was a seven-time All-American and a five-time Big XII champion. In 2011, he was named the Big XII Athlete of the Year and was also the 2011 Midwest Region Athlete of the Year. He holds Oklahoma's indoor 60m (6.54) and 200m (20.39) records and outdoor 100m (9.97) and 200m (20.05) records; he was just the 79^th person ever to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m.

Salaam, who signed with Adidas following his junior season at Oklahoma, finished his degree at the University of Alabama in 2019, graduating with a bachelor's in history with a minor in computer science.

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