Takeru Kobayashi Eats 69 Hamburgers In Eight Minutes - Takes Prize

[matcom]

<snip>

A SLENDER 26-year-old from Japan who is the undefeated champion in hot-dog eating competitions has broadened his repertoire, wowing an American crowd by munching 69 hamburgers in eight minutes.

Takeru Kobayashi, who has made a full-time career out of his unusual talent and become a celebrity in Japan, took home $US10,000 after stuffing himself at the contest in Chattanooga, Tennessee, media reports said.

"Kobayashi is, without a doubt, the greatest eater ever to live upon planet Earth," said David Baer of the International Federation of Competitive Eating.

Second-place went to Sonya Thomas, a Virginia woman who in the allotted eight minutes Saturday could eat a mere 46 of the miniature square burgers cooked up by Krystal, a fast-food chain in the US south.

Kobayashi has triumphed four years straight at the July 4 hot-dog contest in New York City, this year breaking his previous record by swallowing 53 and a half frankfurters.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11401593%255E13762,00.html

[billyoc]

1. Then clutches heart, dies. n/t

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. That guy is phenomenal!

[matcom]

3. the "greatest eater to ever live"

hows THAT for an engraved headstone :D

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

4. I imagine he's also the greatest shiter ever to live too

:)

[democracy eh]

5. he has a bright future ahead of him

in fast food endorsements and comedy show spoof skits

[drdon326]

6. Kobayashi is a legend.

I have followed his career a long time.

Should be first inductee in the IFCE Hall of Fame.

[kslib]

7. Calling all docs/nurses!

I'm curious; what does the repeated extreme expanding/contracting of the stomach and the rest of the *ahem* digestive tract do to a person? Can it cause permanent damage, or just one hell of a bad toilet day? :hurts:

[jdots]

8. Takera holds many records

Projectile vomit distance champ 3 years in a row
94 peanut butter and toe jam sandwichs eaten in under 6 minutes. This is someone to look up to.

[htuttle]

9. He holds a 5th dan black belt in glutton-jutsu

Shogun used to send highly trained glutton-justu masters behind enemy lines to covertly consume all their food supplies.

Sometimes they would masquerade as 'vistors' who would have to be fed to save face. Their shout of 'Hey, got anymore rice cakes?' would send a shiver down the spine of many an imperial quartermaster.

Honest. I read it in a book.

[Beware the Beast Man]

10. I remember seeing a program on "competitive eating"

a couple years ago, and some veteran eaters accused Kobayashi of "doping," using stomach relaxants to numb the cramping associated with a full stomach. Amazing. Competitive eating has its own drug scandal. Here's a link:
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/rovell/030704.html