Mark Plaatjes (born 2 June 1962 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

) is a former

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

runner who was champion at the

1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having ori ...

in Stuttgart.

Biography

Born in

South Africa under apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, Plaatjes won two national titles at the marathon and two at cross countr

He ran a personal best marathon of 2:08:58 in 1985 in Port Elizabeth, but was unable to compete outside South Africa, barred from the 1984 and 1988

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

due to the international boycott of South Africa. He sought political asylum in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1988, saying "I didn't want my daughter to grow up in a country where she felt inferior

In 1991 Plaatjes won the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

in 2:10:2

In 1993, Plaatjes finished 6th in the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

, qualifying for the U.S. team at the World Championship

On 24 July 1993, Plaatjes became a citizen of the U.S., just three weeks before the World Championships. Stuttgart was to be the greatest success of his career. The race had been led by

Luketz Swartbooi Luketz Swartbooi (born 7 February 1966) is a retired Namibian long-distance runner. Career In 1992 Swartbooi won the Rössing Marathon with a time of 2:11:23 min, a record that stands. At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart he won silver ...

from

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

for a very long time. At 40 km, Swartbooi still looked like the likely winner. But the Namibian slowed down in the very final stages and was overtaken by Plaatjes three minutes before he reached the finish line, in a time of 2:13:5

Plaatjes became the first American to win a gold medal in a long-distance event at World Athletics Championships, World Championships. Plaatjes has made his home in Boulder, Colorado, where he has a hand in several local businesses and coaches a local running club.

Achievements

*All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

Video Interview

Flotrack.com Interviews of Mark Plaatjes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaatjes, Mark 1962 births Living people American male long-distance runners American male marathon runners South African male marathon runners South African male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Johannesburg World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States South African emigrants to the United States World Athletics Championships winners