PINE MOUNTAIN CLUB, Calif. -- The Winter Olympics have always been something special to Mark Cockerell.

Cockerell was a figure skater who competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. Although he finished out of the medals, he has always cherished his Olympic moment, from being in the Olympic Village with the world's best athletes to seeing the national pride from fans.

"Competing at the Olympics was like a free trip to Disneyland for me," he recalled. "The real challenge was making it through Nationals, but when I did that, I was so happy."

Seeing the Winter Olympics nowadays also means a lot to him.

"I have to admit, when I was watching some of these Games, I started feeling those old war wounds, the aches and pains from training," Cockerell said.

Cockerell, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, is now a realtor in Pine Mountain Club.

He says he's still able to catch up with many of the athletes he met in Sarajevo, and that many of them tend to come out of the woodwork when the Olympics are held.

Cockerell says he was also happy to see American Evan Lysacek take home the gold, especially since both skaters were under the tutelage of the same figure skating coach, Frank Carroll.