Epic Hot Dog Contest Almost a TieWinner downs 64 frankfurters in annualcontestByShaoshao Chen and Mimi LiEpoch Times New York StaffJul 04, 2008TRIUMPHANT: Winner Joey Chestnut holds up the first place trophy. (Shaoshao Chen/The Epoch Times)NEW YORK—Regulation wasn't enough for this dog-eat-dog skirmish of the stomachs at Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest where arch-rivals Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut engaged in an intense face-off.The event drew thousands of spectators eager to watch the 21 competitors shove and chug hot dogs in the short span of 10 minutes at the annual contest on Coney Island.The heated struggle between six time former champion Kobayashi and reigning champion Chestnut highlighted the event's 93rd year running. The two arch-rivals faced off in an intense struggle to claim the highest honor of the competitive hot dog eating world, the Mustard Belt.Kobayashi and Chestnut took center stage and delved in a split second after the starting bell rang.This year's competition mirrored last year's when Chestnut stole the title from under Kobayashi. The crowd favorite of this year, diminutive 30 year old Kobayashi went head to head with Chestnut and fought to a tie with 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes. The result was a first ever tie in the competition's history.To break the tie, five additional hot dogs were added. Kobayashi and Chestnut dove in. The two were seemingly in a tie right down to the last bite when Chestnut opened his mouth, signaling he was done once again ousting Kobayashi as the champion.Initially, Chestnut was in the lead with 31 frankfurters in four minutes but Kobayashi quickly caught up. As usual, Kobayashi's strategy was to scarf down the dogs then dunk the buns in water.FACE-OFF: Takeru Kobayashi (left) and Joey Chestnut (right) face off at the 93rd Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest. (Shaoshao Chen/The Epoch Times)Chestnut's victory was met by a roar from the crowd of thousands chanting "USA". The chants roared despite Kobayashi being the crowd favorite, whose hopes of reclaiming the belt after losing to Chestnut last year were dashed. In the 2007 contest, Kobayashi lost by 63 hotdogs to Chestnut's 66 in 10 minutes.At the awards ceremony, a proud Kobayashi held up the second place trophy and greeted fans."Thank you very much. I love you," said Kobayashi to the crowd.Unlike Kobayashi, newly reappointed champion Chestnut was not quite so reserved. When asked how he got through overtime, he replied that he needed to "push through the pain and do whatever it took to win.""The audience pushed me hard," shouted Chestnut. "I love you New York!"Every year, competitors are selected from a group of winners in regional contests. This year saw a total of 21 competitors including a pizza cook from New York City, a fisherman and a 110-pound Chinese mother of two. posted by Don "Moses" Lerman # 2:41 AM1 comments
Jewish eaters have gotten the short end of the stick in the ifoce. I am not afraid to speak my mind on that topic. They promote minorities but the wrong ones
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