For example I think Katarina Witt's skating was overrated BUT her charisma, her competitiveness and the end result is undisputed. TAra Lipinski was a great technician and Sarah Hughes had her SLC moment but they aren't special or magical - something you can't explain like Baiul or even Cohen. .
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I wanted to focus in on one point: I do not think anyone has mentioned Oksana until now. What do we think of her legacy? I'lll go slightly off topic here. One of the reasons it kind of worries me when really young women win the Olympics is that it tends to shorten their participation in the sport. That's not to say they shouldn't win--there are just upsides and downside to everything. Oksana at 15-16 had more sophistication than most skaters have at 25. She should have been one of the greatest ultimately but I think her pro career mostly gets lost in the shuffle.