[1] Pflug's talent for speed skating was discovered in 1968 and the very next year, she already became junior national 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.

In 1984, Pflug married fellow speed skater Fritz Gawenus, a multiple national champion.

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.