A Darkhorse Candidate For The Nathan's 4th Of July Contest

I don't ever remember there being this much fanfare leading up to the Nathan's 4th of July Hot Dog contest.

First, undisputed champ Takeru Kobayashi's mother passed away, and it was unknown whether he was going to participate in this year's event. Don't worry, he'll be there.

Then, Joey Chestnut, who actually led Kobayashi for much of last year's contest, broke Kobayashi's hot dog eating record at a satellite contest in Arizona.

Now, a new challenger by the name of Juliet Lee, a 107-pound woman originally from China, has entered into the fray by eating 26 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Her reason for success differs a little from some of the other competitors that concentrate on training.

"Lee said she grew up in China and was often hungry. Now, she's making up for it."

Yeah, eating chinese usually has that same effect on me, though I don't consume massive quantities of hot dogs to quell my hunger. However, if it helps her beat Chestnut and Kobayashi, then it's worked out well for her.

I haven't been able to track down the odds for all of the competitive eaters, though I did hear that right now Chestnut is the favorite with Kobayashi a close second. It will be interesting to see what odds Lee gets, and she could make a great longshot winner candidate.

Down Goes Kobayashi!

Many of you have probably heard of Takeru Kobayashi. He's the Japanese competitive eater that seemingly holds every imaginable eating record. His most famous record, however is probably in the sport of hot dog consumption. Last year he broke his own record of 49 hot dogs by eating 53 3/4 hot dogs during the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4. Kobayashi's reign over the hot dog kingdom, however is no more.

His record was smashed yesterday when Joey "Jaws" Chestnut consumed a whopping 59 1/2 hot dogs in 12 minutes during the Southwest Regional qualifier for the Nathan's Contest in Arizona.

Chestnut almost beat Kobayashi at the Nathan's Contest last year. He lead Kobayashi for much of the contest, but finished second with 52 hot dogs consumed. It will be interesting to see how things turn out for this year's match-up now that Chestnut holds the title. It's also interesting to note that(from Wikipedia): "He is famous for training with cheese fries. He is known to be able to eat over two pounds in 5 minutes." Sounds like me at Denny's after a night of drinking.

Anyway, here's video of Chestnut breaking the record. Someone should loop the "Rocky" theme over the entire thing because that guy yelling "Joooey!" almost ruins it. Though, it is nice to see that Miami Heat fans are taking in competitive eating contests since their team got knocked out of the playoffs.