Former Cal Athlete Rings NASDAQ Bell in Times Square

One year from the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee got the countdown started Wednesday in Times Square.

To honor the occasion, a group of former and hopeful Olympic athletes was invited to Manhattan to ring the NASDAQ closing bell. 

Among them was Chuck Berkeley, a former member of UC Berkeley's track and field team who was a member of the U.S. four-man bobsled team at the 2010 Olympics and a hopeful for the 2014 Olympics team.

Also at the event were Great Neck skating greats Sarah and Emily Hughes — just back from a trip to Capitol Hill earlier this week to celebrate national Women in Sports Day with the Women's Sports Foundation.

"Once an Olympian, always an Olympian," said Sarah, the 2002 women's figure skating gold medalist.

Patrick Sandusky, Chief Communications Officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee, joined the Hughes women, and former and future Olympians to announce the countdown to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Also on the guest list were Sasha Cohen, the 2006 Olympic figure skating silver medalist; Keri Herman, the 2014 Olympic hopeful for slopestyle skiing; and Tom Wallisch the 2014 Olympic hopeful for slopestyle skiing.

Cohen, who attends Columbia University in New York, said she was excited to be ringing the NASDAQ bell and promoting the Sochi games.

"I have Russian roots," said Cohen, a California native. "It's super exciting."