Comprehensive information and links about Takeru Kobayashi

Takeru Kobayashi , b. 1978Takeru Kobayashi is a Japanese competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating who holds the world record for hot dog eating. The record of 53 1

Records

Kobayashi has won Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for 5 years in a row. A * denotes a victory that broke the previous world record.

He set his first record on July 4, 2001, when he ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the Nathan's Coney Island hot dog eating contest, shattering the previous record of 25 12 hot dogs in 12 minutes, beating his old record. There was a small conflict over this result, as some fellow competitors accused him of expelling vomit during the 12-minute competition. Vomiting is not prohibited , but the vomit is not allowed to leave the mouth of a contestant. His latest feat was in 2005 when he managed to eat 49 hot dogs and win his fifth straight contest.

At a speed-eating contest in Hong Kong in August, 2005, Kobayashi consumed 83 vegetarian dumplings in 8 minutes; on the next day, he ate 100 steamed pork buns in 12 minutes. Kobayashi also won the 2005 Alka-Seltzer US Open of Competitive eating, a three-hour IFOCE elimination tournament on ESPN and the Glutton Bowl,a two-hour IFOCE eating special that aired on Fox Network in 2002.

Kobayashi also holds the record for eating Krystal Hamburgers (the 2.5" square burgers popular in the US Southeast). During the 2004 Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship he consumed 69 burgers in 8 minutes.

Other world eating records held by Kobayashi include 17.7 pounds (8.0 kg) of cow brains in 15 minutes and 20 pounds (9 kg) of rice balls in 30 minutes.

Training and techniques

Kobayashi's technique relies on avoiding chewing (if possible) and using a series of stomach-expanding seltzer, or soda water, binges. The volume of water and gas in the seltzer expands the stomach without needing to consume any food energy. This is how Kobayashi stays at 131 pounds (59 kg).

Kobayashi expands his stomach for a competition by eating larger and larger amounts of food, and then exercises to ensure that fat will not impede expansion of his stomach during a competitionspan wiggle, which he uses to force food down his esophagus. He eats the hot dogs by splitting the frankfurter in half, swallowing both parts at once, and then eating the bun. He calls this the Solomon method.