A few of you may know about my semi-fanatical interest in the world of competitive eating. I, myself, am known to be quite an avid eater, though nowhere near the level of where the professionals are at.
Like many others, my favorite food-fighter is Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi. Some of Kobayashi’s accomplishments include:
- Number 1 ranked eater in the International Federation of Competitive Eating.
- Six-time consecutive champion of Nathan’s Famous hot dog-eating competition.
- Three-time consecutive champion of the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship
- Plus, a ton of other world records and championships…
His appearance in MTV’s True Life: I’m a competitive eater was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. The amount of training he goes through to push the limits of the human body is just amazing, to say the least.
Well… just yesterday, shaking things up in the competitive eating landscape, American food fighting force, Joey Chestnut shattered Kobayashi’s world record by eating 59 1/2 hotdogs in 12 minutes at the Southwest Regional Hot Dog Eating Championship in Tempe, Arizona
He bested Kobayashi’s previous record of 53 3/4 hotdogs in 12 minutes, set at the last Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is held annually at Coney Island in New York and is considered the world cup of eating.
Chestnut placed second to Kobayashi in last year’s world championships, scarfing down 52 hot dogs. His recent win at the regional competition gets him a seat in the Nathan’s contest next month for the much anticipated rematch in Coney Island.
I can’t wait!
—cK