Doggiegirl, I wish that for Sasha too. However, I believe Witt's mental toughness was developed through things that don't exist anymore.
KW was part of a system that reared you, taught you, and trained you. Her personal freedom was largely meted out and sparingly. Living in a Communist country of that era meant that you would probably do things (like supporting the comunist govt. Ms . Witt has be accused of being too friendly with her government...if you don't know what it is to live free and your government is footing the bill for you and your family's "lifestyle", then perhaps you'd be friendly with them too) It means that her coaches were chosen for her and most likely that she had little to any say about what the music was or what the costume would be...those decisions were made between the coach and the Bureau of Sports.
I think Kat must have known what she had to do to survive and succeed in the skating world. Yes, I wish she could impart her wisdom, but not at the price she paid. Until the end of the Berlin Wall, her plight was no pro skating unless approved, no "cheesefest" unless approved, no endorsements unless approved, no travel unless approved.
Witt has said herself that if she hadn't won the second gold medal she would never had the life she enjoys today. Love or hate Kat's skating, one can help but admire what she had to endure to get where she was. People have always made value judgements on her for decisions such as posing for Playboy,. However, anyone who knows all the facts of her upbringing and skating history certainly can't deny that she's a champion in every way.
In terms of comparison to the current era, I percieve only Plush in that category where Witt always seemed to be.
