Since July 4, 2001, when Takeru Kobayashi first wowed the crowd at Coney Island by devouring a then-world record 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes, the pint-sized stomach-stuffer has been a dependable fixture at the annual eat-off, winning the competition six times in a row. But after three consecutive losses in subsequent years, a report claims Kobayashi may not choose to compete next weekend.
The president of Major League Eating says that Kobayashi hasn’t committed to the Nathan’s-sponsored event because there was “an impasse” in negotiations.
Joey Chestnut, the gut-buster who has pushed Kobayashi into second place for three consecutive years, says he expects to walk away with the trophy — and presumably a stomach ache — if Kobayashi doesn’t show on the Fourth of July.
“There is no other competitor,” Chestnut told NY Daily News. “If he doesn’t compete, it’s a victory for me because I would have scared him away.”
Takeru Kobayashi, Nathan’s hot-dog eating champion, may be sitting out Fourth of July contest [NY Daily News]
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Sadly there isn’t much competition right now in the world of competitive eating. Then again no one thought anybody could match or beat Kobayashi so the next winner could show up from anywhere.
And before Chestnut, there was also no competition. Hell, Kobayashi ate almost double his nearest competitor when he won the Nathan’s challenge the first time, and he similarly demolished the field for ~5 years until Chestnut.
Wait..Major League Eating? “negotiations”? We Americans really do like eating way too much..
ifoce.com – the major league eating webpage has some awesome quotes calling their competitors such gems as:
“Joey Chestnut is truly an American hero and a national treasure. “
and comparing another eater to Joan of Arc. Yeah they take this very seriously.
I think the sad thing is they DO take this seriously, and they really mean those quotes they say.
Do those guys leave all those hot dogs in their stomachs once the event is over? Or do they stick their fingers down their throats?
That is called a “Reversal of Fortune”. And from what I understand, they do keep it, because they don’t want to damage their golden gullets.
Oof. 60 or 70 hotdogs…whatever it is…being slowly digested can’t be too easy on the golden gullet.
I’d make sure I didn’t sit next to Kobayashi on the plan back to Japan.
IIRC, they did an X-ray of him afterwards once, and it was…interesting. I also watched one year when they interviewed him, and you could see the bulge when he lifted his shirt.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/07/03/inside-the-belly-of-competitive-eating/
I just know that if they vomit during the event, what they ate still counts.
Why call him “pint-sized”? He’s 5’8″. Sure that’s below average height for American men, but the average for Japanese men is 5’7 1/2″. And there are plenty of American men who are 5’8″…doesn’t make them pint-sized.
He’s also skinny which i would guess is considered “under-sized” for the competitive eater.
One of the top competitive eaters in the world is the 105 pound, Sonya Thomas.
Ah, The Black Widow…
I don’t recall where I saw this, but fat people cannot compete as well as thin people when it comes to competitive eating because the fat that surrounds their bellies does not allow the stomach to expand as much.
Joey Chestnut isn’t large either. If you want to see, he was on an episode of Man v Food, I think the San Jose episode.
When you compare how fat the average American is, Kobayashi is indeed “pint sized.”
I found the missing ‘e’ from the Irish t-shirt…. “empasse”
False alarm. I guess it really does have an ‘e’ at the end.
Wh s ths n Cnsmrst? Wht’s th cnsmr ngl? thr thn Kbsh bng “cnsmr” f ht dgs?
Was wondering the same thing. I suppose its a heads up to consumers who were going to go to Coney Island for the sole reason of watching him compete…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lMbk4DeN7E
I never understood competitive eating. What does being good at something so disgusting and unhealthy prove?
What does being able to lift more weights that anyone else prove? Or run a certain distance in the shortest amount of time? Or kick a ball into a net more times than the other team?
It’s all about seeing how far one can push the limits of human ability. The fact that an unhealthy food is involved doesn’t make it any more inane than other sports.
Unhealthy? Have you seen some of these eaters? They are like Kobayashi above. Thin.
I once saw a news spot, on the health issue of this type of eating. Skinny does not mean healthy, and that type of eating can cause health problems.
I could never win that particular competition because Nathan’s hot dogs taste like salted shit.
I don’t know how anyone can eat franks and buns dipped in water to begin with.
Kobayashi can go to the event and eat him self closer to the grave, or he can skip the event and disappoint his fans.
It is a no-win scenario, really.
Guess Kaiser Soze didn’t approve.
Sorry, should be Keyser Soze (oops).
Hw s ths pst cnsmr rltd??
Eeyew. I can’t stand to watch this kind of stuff. It makes me sick. I get the whole pushing yourself / competitive urge thing, but for God’s sake, do something less gross!