It seems you can bet on everything. If you hurry, you can bet on Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, broadcast on the Fourth of July at noon Eastern by ESPN. After all, what's more American than a hot dog eating contest on the Fourth of July on Coney Island? A contest that's been held on the nation's birthday since 1916? Why gambling, of course.
Takeru Kobayashi has won Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest five years in a row. He's the favorite to win again.
It may seem odd that a 140-pound Japanese man is winning the All-American event. It's not so surprising though when you learn that the hot dog contest is one of several "competitive eating" events. There's an International Federation of Competitive Eating and Kobayashi is one of its biggest stars — if not the biggest star — holding records for not only hot dog eating (53 1/2 in 12 minutes) but also for eating hamburgers (69 in 8 minutes), rice balls (20 lbs in 30 minutes) and, believe it or not, cow brains (don't ask).
His dominance at the Hot Dog Eating Contest has been overwhelming:
In the past four years he has won the Nathan's Contest by an average margin of 18.3 hot dogs, breaking the world record on three of those occasions. And nobody has ever come close to breaking his record of 53 and 1/2 hot dogs in 12 minutes.
Providing enough competition to turn this into a betting event is Joey Chestnut, who ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes in the qualifying round. Kobayashi is 1-4 and Chestnut is 4-1. Let the game begin!
UPDATE: Kobayashi won, setting a new record of 53 3/4. Chestnut, who led for long stretches, came in second with 52.
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Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Would a competitive eating biathlon entail having the food come out the other end?
2 - Scott Butki
No it'd involve ingesting fluid via tubes plus through the mouth.
I watched the contest. It was actually pretty close but turned me off on hot dogs.
3 - Snarkattack
'Egads, when a pal of mine from the States said that instead of getting excellent world football/soccer coverage she gets this crap (her word, not mine) instead, I thought she was joking.
Okay, I didn't but I wanted to.
How do they cram so much into their bodies? Does one get disqualified for throwing up? What on earth could possess a human to want to eat competitively?! Amazing...
4 - Justene
There are a remarkable number of ways to cram the food in. Don't make me write it. I saw no throwing up. I suspect it disqualifies them but it would indeed slow one down enough to lose.
There were only two "fat" guys. The announcer said one was the last of the "big man" champions. The real top of the competition are small people. Kobayashi was 137 lbs but is now a very muscular 150.
From the looks of these guys, it's an athletic event requiring training and mental discipline. I don't quite understand how but watching and listening to them, it was surprising.
5 - DrPat
Yes, "losing the lunch" is a disqualification. Otherwise, 98-pound bulimics would be the world champions. We can ask Sal, but I think competitive eating leaves the "athletes" open to all kinds of disorders later in life. (Hypertension and gastric problems, obviously, but I vaguely remember hearing that mental problems are rife amongst older ex-speedeaters.)