Meet Viki and Ana, There She Rows
We sat down with Viki Monk and Ana Zigic, two TeamWass employees and also members of There She Rows, a team of four women who rowed the Atlantic Ocean back in December. Five months on from their return, Viki and Ana reflect on their experience taking part in the Atlantic Row, share their opinion on growth areas for women’s sport, and the major events in 2024 that they are most looking forward to.
Describe the Atlantic Row in five words or less.
Ana Zigic: Exhilarating, exhausting and everything in-between
Viki Monk: Enriching, otherworldly, testing, transformative and wet.
Three months on from completing the challenge – which you did as part of a four-woman crew called There She Rows – tell us what life has been like since you stepped off that boat…
AZ: Life has been a bit of a whirlwind, but in the best way. The opportunities that the row opened up to me are incredible. Not long after the row, I went to Serbia where I was recognised in the streets after a mini press tour, which was so surreal…(I am the first woman from Serbia or Slovenia to row an ocean). I’ve since written an article for Vogue, featured on TV and joined Wasserman!
Candidly, I am still wrapping my head around how much has happened since first seeing Viki’s post on LinkedIn in 2022 looking for a crew, right up until this moment!
VM: As Ana said… what a roller coaster. From not being able to walk when we first got off the boat, to learning to sleep again – (I didn’t sleep properly for about a month), the physical recovery itself took about three months. All the while we were reconnecting with friends and family, and trying to get back in the swing of things at work. It’s a shock to the system, going from survival mode for 40 days to the fast-paced nature of agency work, but I’m back feeling myself again with a renewed outlook and optimism for what lies ahead!
Rowing the Atlantic is clearly a huge achievement in and of itself, but as Ana mentioned, it’s also created a new platform for you; one that may help achieve your wider goal of tackling the high dropout rate from sport amongst women and girls. How has your participation in the row, and what you’ve been able to do since then, begun to create impact?
VM: The impact has been truly staggering. We had thousands of messages on our Instagram account from people telling us that we had inspired mothers, sisters and daughters to get back into sport. To name just a couple, we’ve had teachers in France and Kuala Lumpur using the There She Rows story in PE lessons, while an elderly lady told us she had organised a swim group to get back into swimming after seeing us complete our challenge. We set out to prove that sport was a place for all women, and it’s so special hearing stories of how that message has reached and resonated with people all over the world.
AZ: As Viki said, it’s been incredible seeing how our row makes a difference. Beyond the messages outlined above, we’ve also received invitations to speak in schools – both primary and secondary, and we’ve sparked important conversations in the media around women’s sport and the barriers to engagement and entry. In the UK, There She Rows has had coverage across the BBC, Sky Sports News, BBC The One Show, The Telegraph, ITV… and many more!
From a personal perspective, I am also proud to have had a platform to talk about endometriosis back home in Serbia, where there is still much work to be done around how the condition impacts our ability to engage in sport, and to create an open forum for speaking about women’s health more generally. I am a true believer of “you have to see it to believe it” and I am grateful to have been given the platform to inspire the next generation.
VM: It’s been fantastic. As Ana mentioned, we’ve been able to go into schools and use the row as a platform to say to all children, but particularly girls: if we can cross an ocean, having never rowed before, hopefully this inspires you to stay in/ get into sport.
Both your professional careers, and the work you do here at Wasserman, are also closely intertwined with advancing women’s sport. Give us a quick overview of each of your roles and what you are working on now…
AZ: I joined Wasserman in March of this year so think I can still call myself new, maybe?! I am a Manager in the Consulting team within Brands & Properties and truthfully, I am working on a bit of everything. One thing I love about the role is to be able to get involved on so many impactful projects, especially the project I am currently working on for The Collective’s partnership with the Netball Super League.
VM: I am the European Lead for The Collective, so it’s been great to work closely with Ana again, albeit in a different setting! For those that don’t know, The Collective is Wasserman’s practice dedicated to advancing the power of women in sports, music and entertainment, and my role is enhancing its presence, impact and remit in this market.
We have a number of exciting projects in the works, across football, tennis, rugby, golf and netball. Those range from providing consultancy for brands coming into women’s sport for the first time around its value and USP, to working with brands already in women’s sport on how to extract the most value from their rights. We also help rights holders structure their rights in a way that sets them up for long-term commercial growth, so a truly holistic approach to the industry.
What are the major trends shaping the industry currently? Which one’s excite you, and which are you more wary of?
VM: We’re beginning to see a lot of positive steps being taken across women’s sport, including the unbundling of rights – giving women’s leagues, teams and tournament’s the chance to stand on their own two feet, commercially. In step with that, we’re seeing women athletes across multiple different sports become household names, which brings its own commercial opportunities. Nelly Korda, Alessia Russo and Mallory Swanson are just a few of the Team Wass athletes lighting up the sporting world currently, building their own star profile as they do so.
What I would love to see more of, is greater insights and research into women’s sport which can help unlock further investment. We know the value to be found in women’s sport, but how can we continue to find the right data to ensure that message is cuttingthrough? That’s a huge focus for us at The Collective.
Aside from that, I think women’s sport – and the stakeholders within that ecosystem – have a huge opportunity now to blaze their own trail. Less beholden to tradition, and less at the mercy of major powerbrokers, women’s sport has the freedom to experiment with how it organises itself. Not doing what’s been done before in the men’s game, but creating something new that works for all interested and invested parties. It’s fair to say that women’s sport has burst out of the proverbial shadows over the past five years or so, but clearly a lot of groundwork had to be laid in the preceding years to get to this point.
Which moments in time do you believe had the biggest role in shifting the landscape for women’s sport, and do you sense there may be yet another seminal moment around the corner?
AZ: For me, it’s the small acts of rebellion to the status quo that truly lay the groundwork. Those athletes, brands and properties who aren’t afraid to take risks are often the ones who reap the rewards of women’s sport.
We’re all aware of the Caitlin Clark effect. The collegiate star gripped a nation, leading to sold-out stadium’s and record TV figures for the NCAA Women’s Final Four. Yet, without the input of fellow NCAA athlete Sedona Prince – who’s viral TikTok video in 2021 shone a spotlight on the inequality experienced by women athletes at March Madness, would Clark have had the same platform to do her thing? Small actions prompt a chain reaction, and the advance of women’s sport in the past few years is proof of that.
VM: Looking at it from a UK perspective, it’s hard to look past London 2012. It was a landmark moment for the nation; the first time women athletes became national superstars. And where there is increased visibility and interest, investment will soon flow.
A decade later, it was the Lionesses’ time to shine. Euro 2022 was the biggest event in women’s sport history for the UK, and it’s fair to say the team grabbed the opportunity with both hands. If London 2012 had laid the foundations, this was women’s sport fully on the map. Skill on the pitch was soon matched by a desire to support the industry’s growth off it, with an urgency that ensured this become a priority agenda item in boardroom’s up and down the country. Having said that, there is still a long way to go to realise the full potential of women’s sport in the UK. We mustn’t think of Euro 2022 as a climax, but rather a starting point.
What sporting moment are you most looking forward to in the remainder of 2024?
AZ: I’ll be attending my first Olympic games this year with tickets to both the women’s and men’s basketball, so this is definitely what I am looking forward to most!
VM: Likewise! The first gender equal Olympics. I will be glued to the TV.
Are there any emerging markets or sectors where you think women’s sport still has potential to really take off?
VM: In terms of markets, it’s hard to look past the Middle East, which has established itself as a dominant hub for all sport in the past few years. Women’s sport is in its infancy across the region, so a huge amount of work needs to go into building the right foundations, but the potential for growth is absolutely incredible.
I’d say the same about Africa, too. Last year’s FIFA World Cup featured a record number of African teams, and we shouldn’t underestimate the power that has on shaping, not just how women’s sport is viewed in those regions, but how society sees women more broadly. There’s momentum to build on there, and wouldn’t it be great if we saw a team from the Middle East feature at the World Cup in Brazil in 2027.
AZ: It will come as no shock for me to say this, but I also think the Balkans – and each of the countries that constitute that peninsula – have so much potential for growth in women’s sport.
How do you spend your down time away from work?
AZ: I’m currently rebuilding both physically and mentally after the row, thinking about new challenges on the horizon, engaging in speaking opportunities about women’s sport, dabbling in river rowing, and I’m also looking for a flag football team to join. I’m also soaking up all the time with my family and friends after two years of hard campaigning and may even take time for my honeymoon this year… it is a year overdue!
VM: I love spending time outdoors; trail running, cold-water swimming or hiking in green space (finishing with a cold fizzy lager outside in a pub beer garden!)

