Top Dog!: S.J.'s Joey Chestnut Inhales 66 Franks, Buns to Set Record and Unseat Six-Time Champ

Jul 05, 11:01 AM

Current Headlines: By Kim Vo, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Jul. 5--San Jose's Joey Chestnut won the dubious distinction Wednesday of being the world's fastest eater, setting a record at the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest in New York and snatching the title belt for the Americans.

Chestnut ate -- if you could call it that -- an astounding 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. That's a rate of one dog every 10.9 seconds. Takeru Kobayashi, the Japanese competitive eating champion who has won the contest for the past six years, placed second, ingesting 63 dogs during a stomach-turning race to the finish.

The spectacle -- witnessed by tens of thousands at Coney Island and untold numbers via ESPN, which telecast it live -- was a mixture of food, sports and patriotism, with a dash of good ol' American excess.

"It was emotional," said Chestnut, 23, in a telephone interview. After the competition, he hugged Kobayashi -- the man he's doggedly tried to defeat and lost to last year by just one wiener. "I put so much more time than I ever thought I would into it."

ESPN's hyperbolic announc ers, breathlessly describing the food fest's play-by-play, declared Chestnut an American hero. When you Google "hero" today, they predicted, Chestnut's name would pop up along with Abraham Lincoln and Neil Armstrong's. Perhaps. But as of Wednesday, Harriet Tubman and George Washington got higher billing than the San Jose State University student.

Dethroned champ

Kobayashi -- he of the compact frame and seemingly bottomless stomach -- has long dominated the sport. His appearance this year seemed iffy, though, since the reigning champ had been suffering from a jaw injury and a pulled wisdom tooth.

Once he appeared Wednesday, the contest was treated as a cross between a wrestling match and the Olympics. National pride was at stake. But that was no reason the 17 competitors shouldn't have nicknames, face paint and stats that boasted their height, weight and past gorging glories.

"Normally, I wouldn't play into it at all," Chestnut said of the nationalist thump. "But on the Fourth of July -- anything you do on the Fourth of July you feel patriotic about."

The International Federation of Competitive Eating plans to recalculate its statistics later this week. Currently, Kobayashi is ranked first on the worldwide food-eating circuit, and Chestnut is second. Wednesday's win may change their positions.

Chestnut made his food-eating debut in 2004 at a San Jose taqueria, downing a 5 1/4-pound burrito in 4 minutes, 14 seconds. He dismisses anyone who says the competitions are more gluttony than sport.

"There's people who don't understand ballet or don't understand drag racing cars. And those same people see competitive eating as wasteful," he said. "It's innocent fun."

On Wednesday, Chestnut got off to a strong start, cramming HDB -- hot dogs and buns, in competition parlance -- into his mouth chipmunk-style while spastically jumping about, a technique that reportedly helps him move the food down.

He steadily increased his lead over Kobayashi from one dog to about five. Then, about halfway through the timed 12-minute competition, Kobayashi found his rhythm, and alternated strategies from eating dogs and buns separately to shoving the whole meal into his mouth at once.

With about two minutes to go, the two appeared neck and neck. Then Kobayashi apparently lost it, holding his hands over his mouth as juices sprayed forth. The judges called for an instant replay and ultimately credited him with 63. Someone draped Chestnut with an American flag.

"This was the biggest thing. Finally, beating Kobayashi," said Chestnut, who took the top $10,000 prize. "When I first came here, he seemed untouchable."

Support from family

Chestnut spoke on the phone from New York, where he was joined by his girlfriend, two sisters and his younger brother Willy.

"It was a good win," Willy Chestnut said. "He's been training so hard for it."

Willy Chestnut, who also attends Chestnut's competitions in California and Oregon, said he was content to be in a supportive role instead of competing himself.

"I can't eat that much," he said, noting that his brother has always been the fastest eater in the family. "I don't think I have that manpower to devote myself to it."

The crew was heading out to a party -- not that Chestnut was going to enjoy a victory meal. After all, he had just ingested 20,394 calories.

"I can go there," he said, and "hopefully waddle around."

Chestnut hasn't eaten a regular meal since June 26, when his mother insisted. For months during training, he consumed milk, water and protein supplements for days, then gorged on solid food.

The winner said he probably won't eat a regular meal until tonight. But normalcy will be short-lived. Next week, he's heading back to New York, where Pizza Hut is hosting an eating competition. Chestnut plans to be there.

Contact Kim Vo at kvo@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5719.

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