20-07-2025
Rhizlane Siba: ‘High Jump Chose Me and Not the Other Way Around'
Rabat — Rhizlane Siba, Moroccan track and field athlete specializing in high jump, stumbled upon the sport by chance.
At the age of ten, her primary school teacher tied a rope between two poles in the playground and asked students to jump over it.
Siba recounted her origin story with the sport in detail in an interview with Morocco World News (MWN).
'We jumped from the ground to the ground, scissoring the rope and landing on our feet,' she recalls. 'I jumped the highest in my class, and then in my grade. I even jumped higher than some older students.'
That brief schoolyard moment changed everything. Her teacher encouraged her to train at Stadium Moulay Abdellah in Rabat. 'I never looked back after that,' she told MWN. Within two years, she joined Morocco's national team.
Records, medals
Siba now holds the Moroccan national record for high jump in all age categories: youth, junior, and senior.
She became a three-time national champion across categories and marked her name as the most consistent high jumper in the country's history.
One achievement stands above the rest. 'At the 2014 African Senior Championships in Marrakech, I won Morocco's only gold medal,' she also told MWN. 'I was still a junior. The national anthem was played only once that entire competition, and it was for my medal. My win had not even been accounted for before the event began.'
Another milestone came a year earlier, in Ukraine. She brought home a bronze medal at the 2013 Youth World Championships. 'That made me the first Moroccan high jumper to ever medal at a world championship. It was a big deal for me.'
A sport on the margins
Despite these accomplishments, Siba continues to fight for recognition. Morocco has long celebrated its runners, who have collected the bulk of the country's Olympic and world medals.
High jump, by contrast, remains overlooked. 'We are known for running, and rightfully so,' she says. 'But we can also support technical events like high jump. No Moroccan high jumper has ever qualified for the Olympics. I plan to change that.'
She believes this lack of visibility stems from long-standing structural issues. 'There is no infrastructure or system that pushes athletes in technical events. You have to create your own path, and that's never easy.'
Discipline before talent
For Siba, discipline remains the most essential quality an athlete can develop.
'Discipline is the driving force behind performance,' she says. 'An ambitious athlete who trains one day and skips the next will never improve. Talent and ambition need structure.' Her own structure began at home. She credits her parents with supporting her in the early stages of her career.
'Without their sacrifices, I would never have been in a position to qualify for college sports in the United States,' she says.
The American chapter
In 2014, Siba's love and skill for the sport moved her the US to attend Kansas State University on a full athletic scholarship.
'Those five years in Kansas were transformative,' she says. 'Both on the track and in the classroom.'
The experience revealed to her what investment in athletes could look like. 'Student-athletes in the United States are treated better than professional athletes back home,' she says.
'They get academic support, nutrition guidance, injury prevention, and still graduate with a degree.'
This contrast left a deep impression. 'In Morocco, unless you are in a sports academy, the school system does not accommodate the needs of athletes. And even those academies often lack proper academic training.'
Advocating for sports science
Since returning to Morocco, Siba has worked to modernize the way athletes train. 'We cannot apply the same methods for over a decade and expect better outcomes,' she says. 'I have been pushing for the application of scientific methods in training.'
For her, this means data collection, performance tracking, injury prevention, and athlete recovery programs led by professionals. 'It does not replace the coach,' she says. 'It enhances the coach's work and gives athletes a real chance to grow.'
She sees little effort from national institutions to adopt these practices. 'The state of athletics in Morocco has barely changed since I started in 2008. In some cases, it has worsened,' she says. 'Some athletes succeed, but it is because of their own persistence, not support from the system.'
The visibility gap
Siba believes that support and visibility remain deeply unequal across disciplines.
'Footballers, especially those in the national team, now enjoy public interest and corporate attention,' she says. 'But athletes in individual sports are still left to manage on their own.'
She notes that recognition often arrives too late. 'Athletes only become visible after international success. Even then, it does not always lead to sponsorships or financial support. It is a constant struggle.'
New paths, future projects
Despite the challenges, Siba continues to take part in new initiatives.
This past June, she represented Morocco's National Olympic Committee (CNOM) in Greece as one of the 2025 Youth Olympic Ambassadors.
The session took place in Athens and Olympia, under the theme 'Sports and Artificial Intelligence.'
'There were 175 ambassadors from around the world,' she says. 'We explored how AI will transform sports from performance analysis and broadcasting to environmental solutions.'
The session left her with new ideas. 'I want to work with the CNOM on a project powered by AI that supports and inspires Moroccan athletes,' she says. 'It is no longer enough to train hard. We also need systems that are smart and adaptive.'
Siba knows the path will not be simple. She continues to train with the sole goal of becoming the first Moroccan high jumper to qualify for the Olympic Games.
But her goal goes beyond personal recognition.
'I want to show that high jump belongs in Morocco's sporting story,' she says. 'I want to create a future where athletes in all disciplines feel supported.'
She did not set out to become a record-breaker. She simply listened when the sport called her name, and took the leap. Tags: high jumpMoroccan athleterhizlane sibasibasports
