53 and 3/4 Hot Dogs

Here's a little follow-up to Scoop's "Heroes" piece from a few weeks back...

Takeru Kobayashi, the undisputed king of the hot dog eaters, set a new world record on Tuesday, July 4, 2006. Yep, he ate an amazing 53 and 3/4 hot dogs at the annual Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Contest. Even more amazing is how little time it took him to complete this arduous task. Twelve minutes.

For the first time in years, there was a serious threat to Kobayashi's dominance. An American, Joey Chestnut, ate 52 dogs in 12 minutes, and actually led Kobayashi until the 10 minute mark. This was a new record for any American hot dog eater.

Here's my favorite quote from the press release...

"...never before has America been so galvanized by a sports hero." Lance Armstrong? Michael Jordan? Brian Boitano? Nope, Joey Chestnut...

Many of you have e-mailed and asked "Hey T, what about your favorite competitive eater, Sonya Thomas? How did she fare this year?" Well, loyal readers, Sonya came in 3rd, with 37 hot dogs. Now, before you start bad mouthing Sonya for her poor performance, I ask you, when was the last time you ate 3 hot dogs a minute for 12 minutes straight?

For the full story, check the IFOCE's news archive here... http://www.ifoce.com/news.php?action=detail&sn=431