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Monika Pflug

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Monika Pflug
Pflug at the 1974 World Championships
Personal information
Born1 March 1954 (1954-03) (age 70)
Munich, West Germany
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb)
Sport
SportSpeed skating
ClubDEC Frillensee, Inzell
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m – 40.53 (1988)
1000 m – 1:23.47 (1984)
1500 m – 2:11.26 (1986)
3000 m – 4:54.49 (1981)
Medal record
Representing  West Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Sapporo 1000 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1972 Eskilstuna Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 1973 Oslo Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 1974 Innsbruck Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Alkmaar Sprint
Pflug on a stamp of Ajman

Monika Pflug (born 1 March 1954), also known as Monika Holzner-Pflug and Monika Gawenus-Pflug, is a German former speed skater. She was born in Munich and competed for West Germany.[1]

Pflug's talent for speed skating was discovered in 1968 and the very next year, she already became junior national champion. In 1970, she set a national record on the 1000 m and in 1971, she became national sprint champion. The next year, 1972, was her best year; she first became national allround champion, then, one month later, she won gold on the 1000 m at the 1972 Winter Olympics of Sapporo, and two weeks after that, she became world sprint champion.[1]

After getting married, Pflug started competing as Monika Holzner-Pflug in the 1974–75 season. The marriage was short-lived, however, and after her divorce she competed as Monika Pflug again. In 1984, Pflug married fellow speed skater Fritz Gawenus, a multiple national champion. From then on, she competed as Monika Gawenus-Pflug.[1]

Pflug would compete in a total of five Winter Olympics between 1972 and 1988, but did not win any more Olympic medals. At the World Sprint Championships, she won three more medals, all bronze, in 1973, 1974 and 1982. She interrupted her speed-skating career for a while to become a mother. Pflug ended her speed-skating career abruptly in 1988 after a new personal and national record on the 500 m in an otherwise disappointing season. By that time, she had gathered 16 national titles and had skated a national record 65 times.

Medals

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An overview of medals won by Pflug at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:

Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal
Winter Olympics 1972 (1000 m)
World Allround
World Sprint 1972 1973
1974
1982
World Cup
European Allround
West German Allround 1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1981
1982
West German Sprint 1975
1979
1981
1982
1983
1984
1986
1987

World records

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Over the course of her career, Pflug skated one world record:

Event Result Date Venue
Sprint combination 183.085 27 February 1972 Eskilstuna

Personal records

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To put these personal records in perspective, the column WR lists the official world records on the dates that Pflug skated her personal records.

Event Result Date Venue WR
500 m 40.53 22 February 1988 Calgary 39.39
1000 m 1:23.47 30 December 1983 Inzell 1:19.31
1500 m 2:11.26 6 March 1986 Inzell 2:03.34
3000 m 4:54.49 26 February 1981 Inzell 4:31.00
Mini combination 178.959 26 February 1981 Inzell 171.149
Sprint combination 166.575 23 February 1986 Karuizawa 161.120

References

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  1. ^ a b c Monika Gawenus-Holzner-Pflug. sports-reference.com
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