History of the Gymternet

[MaryClare]

I remember you!

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

You’re here! Mwah!

 

[RAFIKI]

It still boggles my mind that the same people I was posting with almost 20 years ago are still around and posting which is amazing.

It’s a wonderful thing but it also makes me feel old

I’ve spent just over half my life on boards, a few months longer than I’ve been with my (now) husband.

 

[rlayt]

 

[MaryClare]

I was 13 when I joined GW and thought you were all really old!

 

[Big_rock_show]

I was only like 18 but I remember thinking you were really young!

 

[swifty33]

We thought we were really old too! How foolish we were!

 

[irichluck21]

what was your handle on American Gymnast? I was GymnastBoy81
Dropped the boy when I hot mid 20s LOL

 

[avivadawn]

I was today years old when I realized that you were younger than I was, MaryClare. You always seemed to be so mature.

I was 18 in 2002, so not as old as people thought that I was.

I was either annefrankfan44 or aviva_dawn on AmericanGymnast, I don’t remember at all.

 

[avivadawn]

Replied one post up. I’m fuzzy on which of two names I used.

 

[MaryClare]

I think many people did, and possibly still do think I am older than I actually am. I was always far more interested in the gymnastics of the 70s and 90s than I was with the current gymnastics. During the 2001-2004 code who can blame me! Also back then it was very difficult to get any news regarding the Russian gymnasts but as I spent my school holidays in Moscow, I was often able to attend competitions and find out what was going on.

There were a bunch of us on GW who were early to mid teens and living in the UK around 2003/2004. I’m still in touch with a couple of them. This is our 5th Olympics together, which is really crazy!

 

[Kittentoes]

Same here.

 

[irichluck21]

It’s my 6th Olympics with one friend from the gymnternet!
Would have been my 4th (08, 12, 16, 20) with WWGYM had it not gotten hacked and closed last year.

 

[tsarinajen]

Hmm… My first gymboard… I think it was Outofboundess though I’ve visited most in various frequencies through the years (Gymworld, GGMB (various versions), IG, WWGYM). It’s the one place where I can talk “shop”. And yes, some boards have been more toxic than others, it’s always been a place where you obtain information or tapes. I remember being SO excited when my 2000 Olympic AA medal ceremony VHS came. My mom thought I was nuts when I was jumping at the mailbox, but she also wished such a place existed when she watched Nadia.

 

[Dex]

Marco anyone remember that character from gymworld?

 

[irichluck21]

Yes.
He joined WWGYM for about 2 weeks before being banned. LOL

What did he used to call Shawn Johnson? Wasn’t it Swan?

 

[MaryClare]

Hahaha. I still use some of Marco’s iconic spellings with my gymternet friends

 

[irichluck21]

Hahaha. I still use some of Marco’s iconic spellings with my gymternet friends

We should compile a list. The only one I recall is Swan instead of Shawn off hand.

 

[JDB]

My favorite was that troll who would make new accounts every few years and post ridiculous comments on Gymworld and WWGym. I’m impressed with the dedication needed to do this for over a decade (probably longer).

 

[rlayt]

Has anyone else tried The Wayback Machine? I randomly, for fun, tried to pull up pages from Wwgym and got something from 2016. But it went blurry. Leet me see if I can post a better quality.