Along with Kobayashi's seemingly unlikely success at this arguably weird endeavor, there has come no shortage of controversy. After winning the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest six consecutive times, a long-standing dispute with the Major League Eating organization led to a bizarre arrest and resulted in barring the formidable champion from competing in some of the world's top eating contests.
Read on to discover the untold truth of competitive eating legend Takeru Kobayashi. Each Fourth of July since , Coney Island hot dog outlet Nathan's Famous has held its iconic hot dog eating contest.
In the edition, a competitor entered the field who changed the game and turned the world of competitive eating on its head. At first glance, reported CNN at the time, Japanese native Takeru Kobayashi didn't seem like much of a threat, given that the scrawny year-old weighed in at a measly pounds. Yet when the dust settled, Kobayashi had eaten his way to a decisive victory, consuming 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes to double the world record. In a interview with the Freakanomics podcast, Kobayashi explained the secret behind his stunning upset.
Rather than trying to stuff as many dogs down his gullet as quickly as possible, he developed the odd-but-effective technique of dipping the hot dog bun in water to break down the starch, squeezing out the excess moisture and then eating these little bun balls separately from the wieners. It's no secret that competitive eating isn't a normal way to consume a meal.
As a result, cramming that much food into one's body during such a compressed period of time can carry some serious health risks. Competitive eating, reported USA Today , can result in such health woes as gastric ruptures and can even lead to seizures triggered when sodium levels drop dangerously low. Meanwhile, a study entitled "Competitive Speed Eating: Truth and Consequences" published in the American Journal of Roentgenology concluded that competitive eaters were likely to develop such maladies as "morbid obesity, profound gastroparesis, intractable nausea and vomiting, and even the need for a gastrectomy.
While Takeru Kobayashi hasn't experienced any of those health problems, he has encountered some issues from his competitive eating and the training required, including exhaustion and shortage of breath. The latter, he explained in an interview with Associated Press , occurred when his stomach became so full that it caused organs to shift inside his body, with his lungs pushed up so high by his bloated belly that there was no room for the lungs to expand.
While Takeru Koyabashi had been able to avoid many serious health difficulties brought on by years of competitive eating, he didn't emerge entirely unscathed. In , in fact, there were fears he might not be able to compete in that year's edition of the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating competition when he was diagnosed with arthritis in his jaw. As People reported at the time, Kobayashi shared the news on his website, writing that his "jaw refused to fight anymore" and had "abandoned the frontline.
Despite the discomfort from his arthritic jaw, Kobayashi soldiered on and competed. While it's difficult to determine how much of a factor his jaw problem played, Kobayashi wound up losing.
American competitor Joey Chestnut was declared the victor, ending Kobayashi's six-year winning streak when Chestnut was able to cram an impressive 66 hot dogs down his throat. The United States government will occasionally grant a foreigner a O-1 visa , a difficult-to-obtain document that is only given to individuals who demonstrate "extraordinary ability or achievement.
According to federal regulations, a successful applicant must possess "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics," or have made an "extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry" that has been "recognized nationally or internationally.
Apparently, being able to eat insane amounts of food somehow fits the bill as an "extraordinary ability. It seems like Takeru was not too happy about this. Since he did not sign the contract, Takeru was not allowed to take part in the competition the following year and was banned. This is not a museum. This is not a hall of fame. On July 4, Joey bagged his 14th win. He broke his own record by eating 76 franks and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut won by consuming 54 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
The win -- Chestnut's fourth straight -- was short of his hot dog record set last year. A statement from the New York Police Department's public affairs office following the arrest said Kobayashi was charged with two misdemeanors and one violation, with the violation considered a low-level charge similar to a traffic violation.
The two misdemeanors were resisting arrest and obstructing government administration specifically, interfering with police. The violation was trespassing.
Kobayashi was being held at a police precinct in Brooklyn, and it was unclear whether he had a lawyer or when he might have bail set. His spokeswoman, James, said it appeared that he would spend the night in jail unless he could get a hearing -- unlikely on a Sunday night and also a holiday night. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts.
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