Kobayashi's Four-Peat



From Lukas I. Alpert of the Associated Press :

When it comes to eating hot dogs, "The Tsunami" may just be unstoppable.

For the fourth straight year the rail-thin Takeru Kobayashi swept over his competition Sunday at the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating competition, gulping down 53 1/2 wieners in 12 minutes, and shattering his own world record by three dogs.




On Sunday, the 5-foot-7, 132-pound Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, employed his trademark method of snapping the dogs in half before swallowing them to destroy the 19 other contestants. He ate an average of one every 13 seconds in the nauseating-to-watch 12-minute display of gastronomic supremacy.

"I think he has proven, once again, that he is one of the finest athletes of any sport in the world," said Richard Shea, a spokesman for the contest.

In the shadow of Kobayashi's dominance, 100-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, 36, of Alexandria, Va., set two records of her own by eating 32 hot dogs _ more than any other American, and any other woman, in the contest's history.

"She's just beginning with this, so the sky's the limit," Shea said. "She may be the only one who can challenge the Japanese's dominance in the future."

In much less important sporting news, Greece beat hosts Portugal, 1-0 to win the Euro 2004 final in what can only be considered a upset on par with... fuck, I don't know, someone other than Kobayashi winning the hot dog eating competition.




(Angelos Charisteas heads past Portugal's Ricardo Pereiria, the latter distracted by Eric "Badlands" Booker coming up short in Coney Island)

Posted: Sun - July 4, 2004 at 05:31 PM      

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