Takeru Kobayashi

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Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi (小林尊, Kobayashi Takeru^?, b. March 15, 1978 in Nagano, Japan) is a Japanese competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, who holds the world record for hot dog eating as six-time consecutive champion of Nathan's Famous hot dog-eating competition. The record of 97 Krystals (hamburgers) was set by Kobayashi on October 28, 2006.^[1]

He is the longest and current reigning world champion in competitive hot dog eating [1].

1 Records
2 Training and techniques
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Records

Kobayashi has won Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for six years in a row.^[2] A * denotes a victory that broke the previous world record.

2006: 53³⁄₄ hot dogs
2005: 49 hot dogs
2004: 53¹⁄₂ hot dogs
2003: 44¹⁄₂ hot dogs
2002: 50¹⁄₂ hot dogs
2001: 50 hot dogs

He set his first record on July 4, 2001, when he ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the Nathan's Coney Island hot dog-eating contest, shattering the previous record of 25⅛. The record was so unexpected that when Kobayashi got to the later numbers, the organizers ran out of signs indicating how many dogs Kobayashi had eaten and had to resort to handwritten signs. In 2002, he broke his own record by eating 50¹⁄₂. In 2003, he won again by eating 44¹⁄₂. In 2004, he triumphed again by eating 53¹⁄₂ hot dogs in 12 minutes, beating his old record. There was a small conflict over this result, as some fellow competitors accused him of expelling vomit during the 12-minute competition. Vomiting is not prohibited per se, but the vomit is not allowed to leave the mouth of a contestant. In 2005, he managed to eat 49 hot dogs and win his fifth straight contest. In 2006, he ate 53¾ hot dogs for his sixth consecutive win and a new world record.

Kobayashi is also the reigning champion of the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Contest; in 2004, he ate 69 Krystal hamburgers; in 2005, he ate 67 hamburgers,^[3] and in 2006, ate 97 hamburgers in eight minutes.

At a speed-eating contest in Hong Kong on August 13, 2005, Kobayashi consumed 83 vegetarian dumplings in 8 minutes.^[4] The next day, he ate 100 roasted pork buns in 12 minutes.^[5] Kobayashi also won the 2005 Alka-Seltzer US Open of Competitive Eating, a three-hour IFOCE elimination tournament on ESPN,^[6] as well as the Glutton Bowl, a two-hour IFOCE eating special that aired on the Fox Network^[7] in 2002.^[8] However, on Fox's 2003 show Man vs. Beast, Kobayashi's sole loss in an eating competition came against a 1400-pound Kodiak bear, when he ate 31 bunless hot dogs in 2 minutes and 36 seconds to the bear's 50.^[9]

On August 5, 2006, the Tsunami, as he is nicknamed, set yet another world record at the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, by downing 58 Johnsonville brat sausages in 10 minutes, shattering the previous record set the year before (35 by Sonya Thomas).

On September 23, 2006, Takeru Kobayashi set the world record at the Phantom Food Festival in Boston, MA for eating 41 Summer Shack Lobster Rolls in 10 minutes, replacing the previous record of 22 rolls.

On October 28, 2006, Kobayashi set a new world record during the 2006 Krystal Square Off in Chattanooga, TN, consuming 97 Krystal burgers in 8 minutes.

Other world-eating records held by Kobayashi include 17.7 pounds (8.0 kg) of cow brains in 15 minutes and 20 pounds (9 kg) of rice balls in 30 minutes.

[edit] Training and techniques

Kobayashi expands his stomach for a competition by eating larger and larger amounts of food, and then exercises to ensure that fat will not impede expansion of his stomach during a competition.^[10] According to a 2006 episode of MTV's documentary series True Life, Kobayashi has a condition called gastroptosis, an abnormal downward displacement of the stomach. It plays a role in his eating ability because his stomach is able to expand below the rib cage unlike most people, allowing him to take in large portions of food.

Physically Kobayashi has undergone drastic change from his earlier appearances on the competitive eating circuit (weighing in at a mere 110 pounds in his beginning competitions and then 144 pounds in later events.) This is due in large part to his more recent endeavors in weight training. By training with weights and working out, Kobayashi has increased his metabolism, which in turn has helped him to burn more Calories. This training is used by Kobayashi to maintain his overall health as well as helping him to elude excess Calories from being stored as fat. Kobayashi's official Web site gives his height as 5 feet 7 inches and his weight as 165 pounds, but in a June 29, 2006, entry on his blog, he says that his weight grew to over 196 pounds during 2006, still being under 10 percent body fat.

Kobayashi is also known for his trademark body wiggle, affectionately known as the Kobayashi Shake, which he uses to force food down his esophagus and settle more compactly in his stomach.^[11] He eats the hot dogs by splitting the frankfurter in half, swallowing both parts at once, and then dipping the buns in water, Sprite, or 7-Up and stuffing it in his mouth. He calls this the Solomon method.^[12]

[edit] Trivia

Kobayashi as seen on SNL's "TV Funhouse" cartoon.

On a 2006 episode of the ESPN show Cheap Seats, Kobayashi was glorified in an episode showcasing the 2005 U.S. Open of Competitive Eating. In the same episode he was spoofed in a commercial called Feed Me, Kobayashi—a doll that consumes 20 human-sized portions and screams in his native Japanese.
Kobayashi has said in recent years that he consumes an average of 6,000 calories per day. That is 42,000 calories per week, and 3 times the amount of calories recommended for an average human to consume. Despite this enormous intake, he has claimed in his blog on his website that his body fat percentage is less than 6%.
A cartoon version of Kobayashi was featured on the 2006-11-11 episode of Saturday Night Live, which lampooned Kobayashi, Dragon Ball Z, and Japanese TV. He used his eating powers to save children from a burning building and used his Solomon Method (That is, dunking hotdogs in flood water) to rescue a flooded village. Kobayashi himself made a cameo.