American wins men's marathon. (Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

    STUTTGART, Germany _ Mark Plaatjes, 32, a runner without a country little more than a year ago, Saturday night at the world track and field championships became the first American in a decade to win a major men's marathon. 
    Plaatjes became a gold medalist after making his move only three minutes from the finish line. His time was 2 hours, 13 minutes, 57 seconds. 
    ``This was wonderful, absolutely wonderful,'' said Plaatjes, who officially became a U.S. citizen on July 24. ``I fully expected to get a medal here, but I didn't know what color.'' 
    Namibia's Lucketz Swartbooi, the runner-up in the Boston Marathon in April, settled for the silver medal after leading from the nine-mile mark to the point where Plaatjes passed him in the clinging heat and humidity outside Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium. 
    Swartbooi's time for the 26-mile, 385-yard trek, …