I wonder how much her leg wrap mattered. As I look at videos, her leg wrap does not bother me at all, even though I have been picky about Nakano's leg wrap.
I just read an interview of hers in Japanese (a magazine called "Number"). She says that 1988 Olympics was really enjoyable. Ms. Witt was beautiful whereas she was short and not pretty. So she just wanted to do her best to the fullest and was very happy to get the standing ovation. As a result, she placed fifth. Ms. Witt won with two triples.
But then the cohort changes next season and she won the world champs, landed 3A. And then in 90's figures are abandoned, which was lucky for her.
In 92, she went to the Olympics as a favorite. (still under the 6.0 system). ..... She herself also grew performance-wise, she could dance tango well instead of making it into Dango (i.e., "dumpling" in Japanese).
Interesting. I think Japanese female skaters do tend to get better with age. They seem to have this transition period where they make time some time to mature. While Japan has always been focused on the cuteness in girls, so can't blame them for being girlish well into their 20s. Hopefully, this means we'll see a mature and better Mao in the future. Also Kanako.