© John Cheng
LAS VEGAS, Nev., March 16, 2011 – 2000 Olympic team bronze-medalist Tasha Schwikert, 26, yesterday was announced as a member the 2011 class for the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. The other inductees are Lied Foundation trustee Christina Hixson, the NFL’s Steven Jackson, Las Vegas baseball exec Don Logan and the 1944 Las Vegas High School Football Team. The induction ceremony is scheduled for June 10 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Schwikert, who also has a World team gold medal to her credit, is the first gymnast and youngest inductee into the South Nevada Hall of Fame. She travelled to Las Vegas, her hometown, for the announcement.
Schwikert’s gymnastics career is filled with accomplishments and titles. Internationally, she was a member of the 2000 Olympic bronze-medal team; won the team, all-around and uneven bars titles at the 2001 Senior Pan American Championships, where she also finished second on vault, balance beam and floor exercise; was a member of the bronze-medal team at the 2001 World Championships; won the 2002 American Cup; won the team, all-around, beam and floor exercise titles, as well as the bars silver, at the 2002 Pacific Alliance Championships; captained the 2003 women’s team that won the world team title, the USA’s first ever; and was an alternate for the 2004 Olympic team.
Domestically, Schwikert won the U.S. all-around title in both 2001 and 2002 and was second in 2003. Her other U.S. titles include: uneven bars (2002, 2004), balance beam (2001) and floor exercise (2002). Following the 2004 Olympic Games, she went to the University of California, Los Angles, where she embarked on a successful collegiate gymnastics career. She became the first UCLA gymnast to win multiple NCAA all-around titles, and she also garnered two Pac 10 all-around crowns.
Since retiring from competition, Schwikert has worked as an analyst for TV and web coverage of gymnastics events and for a television series as a stunt double. She is currently interested in attending law school. She also is a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2003 World Championships Team.