So, earlier this year, Joey Chestnut shattered the hot dog eating contest record set by former champion Takeru Kobayashi. I mean, Joey ate a lot of fuckin' hot dogs. You would think that this year's main event was shaping up to be a titanic struggle between the two top performers of the competitive eating world
Not so fast.
Hot dog champ's in pain, frankly
Takeru Kobayashi, the Nathan's hot-dog-eating king who recently lost his world record to an American upstart, may not fight to reclaim the title on the Fourth of July because of acute jaw pain.
"My jaw refused to fight any more," Kobayashi revealed yesterday on his blog, describing how he cannot open his mouth wider than a fingertip.
An epic matchup had been brewing between the Japanese man nicknamed "Tsunami" and American Joey Chestnut, who this month beat Kobayashi's record by downing 59 1/2 hot dogs in 12 minutes at a regional contest, almost six more than the 53 3/4 wieners Kobayashi ate at Coney Island last year.
The 160-pound Kobayashi, who has won six consecutive July Fourth contests, has defied stereotypes of obese men scarfing down obscene quantities of food. "I was continuing my training and bearing with the pain, but finally I destroyed my jaw," he wrote on the blog.
The International Federation of Competitive Eating, the contest's sponsor, said Kobayashi plans to compete July Fourth, but it will honor his withdrawal if he offers it officially. "Eater safety is our top priority," said Richard Shea, the federation president.
"Even if he has pain, he will eat right through it," predicted Chestnut. "There is no way he will miss the biggest contest of the year."
http://www.newsday.com/features/food...-foodday-print
I think he's scared of the competition.
aV
