----------------------------------- hbgator Tue 04 Jul, 2006 A 160-pound wonder from Japan set a new record ----------------------------------- NEW YORK (AP) -- A 160-pound wonder from Japan set a new record by devouring a sickening 53Ă‚Âľ frankfurters in 12 minutes to win the annual Independence Day hot dog eating competition on Coney Island. The feat earned Takeru Kobayashi, 27, his sixth straight title in the event, held at the original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand on Brooklyn's seashore. He broke his own record of 53Ă‚Â˝ hot dogs, set at the same competition two years ago. Kobayashi's nauseating triumph was witnessed by thousands of raucous spectators who jammed the streets in front of the hot dog stand a block from the famed Coney Island boardwalk. The champion eaters arrived just before noon in a bus from Manhattan, accompanied by a police escort. Seasoned fans were on hand to see whether anyone would unseat Kobayashi -- a top-ranked eater who once ate 17.7 pounds of pan-seared cow brains to win $25,000. Kobayashi's strongest competition was Joey Chestnut, a 220-pound civil engineering student from San Jose, Calif., who set an American record by eating 50 hot dogs during a recent qualifying tournament in Las Vegas. Other competitors included 100-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., who once ate 65 hard boiled eggs in a little more than 6Ă‚Â˝ minutes, and local favorite Eric "Badlands" Booker, a 6-foot-4, 425-pound subway conductor from Long Island who holds speed-eating records for pies and matzo balls. Chestnut jumped out to an early lead in the competition, sometimes jamming franks into his mouth with two hands as the crowd roared. But he was passed by Kobayashi with about three minutes left in the contest. As Chestnut struggled, red-faced, with veins bulging in his forehead, the Japanese star methodically chomped dog after dog, often dipping them in a soft drink before cramming them into his mouth. When the clock expired, Chestnut had swallowed 52 Nathan's franks -- not quite enough. ----------------------------------- Lady DarkFire Thu 06 Jul, 2006 Re: A 160-pound wonder from Japan set a new record ----------------------------------- Oh my gosh, can you even imagine what their bathrooms look like after they pass all of that out of their systems?!! UGH! >_< ----------------------------------- Grim Thu 06 Jul, 2006 ----------------------------------- Hehe, thats a damn load of Hot Dogs....! :lol: ----------------------------------- cyberval Thu 06 Jul, 2006 ----------------------------------- that is f***ing gross... damn.. :( ----------------------------------- Mop Wed 02 Aug, 2006 ----------------------------------- Makes me sick just reading it , waste of good food.Stuff like this should be stopped.Banned. Isn't he fat enough? Gross indeed.