February 23, 2006
Coney Island isn't the only setting for Japan's finest, Takeru Kobayashi, the world's greatest competitive eater. It might not be the Fourth of July yet, but watching the True Life profile of Kobayashi in training and in competition at Nathan's vs. Manhattan's Tim Janus, a/k/a Eater X is like watching a heavyweight champ take on a lightweight. Kobayashi, if you recall, ate more than twice as many Nathan's hot dogs as Eater X last July. And he didn't even beat his own record! Kobayashi admits in the MTV documentary that he only competes against himself, and that's quite obvious watching Kobayashi down 22 pounds of noodles and shaved ice in Nagoya, Japan. The shaved ice is way too spicy, obviously spiked by the chef to throw off Kobayashi, who sweats profusely trying to finish it off. But like any true champ, he perseveres. Both guys take their eating competitions very seriously, but unlike Eater X (who works as a day trader on Wall Street), Kobayashi seemingly does nothing but lift weights and eat.
As competitive eating increases in America—it's been a big deal in Asia for years—more contests emerge, from zucchini to spoonbread eating. But the real challenge is Nathan's. And watching relatively tiny Kobayashi, with his washboard abs and bleached hair go mano-a-mano with some of the fattest big guys in Brooklyn is pure WWF for the gullet.
Kobayashi says when the weather starts to get hot in Nagoya in May, that's when he begins his annual training for Nathan's. See you in Coney Island!
Tags:
coney island, eater x, hot dogs, mtv, nathans, takeru kobayashi, tim janus
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Posted on 2/23/2006
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