from the ny daily news...
The dogs are war
By MAKI BECKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, July 5th, 2003
After failing to finish his 45th and last frankfurter, Takeru (The Tsunami) Kobayashi slammed his fist on the table yesterday.
It wasn't that he had lost.
None of the competition at the annual Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest came close to touching the Tsunami - especially William (The Refrigerator) Perry, who bowed out with a feeble four dogs eaten.
It's just that he fell six franks short of breaking his record of 501/2 hot dogs, set last year. And that, frankly, was enough to send the three-time champ collapsing to his knees in self-disgust.
"It's mortifying," the 25-year-old eating contest pro said afterward.
But the human Pac-Man was quickly heartened by a gaggle of young Japanese women who screamed for him to show them his tummy.
He gladly complied, lifting his white Nathan's T-shirt to reveal his bulbous belly stretched tight as a giant drum.
"Your stomach is cute!" his fans squealed while snapping photos.
Kobayashi was not the only star of the Fourth of July gustatory extravaganza in Coney Island.
Edward (Cookie) Jarvis, 36, of Nesconset, L.I., made Americans proud by breaking the U.S. record yesterday, forcing down 30-1/2 hot dogs - a feat of franks that earned him second place.
And Sonya Thomas, 35, of Alexandria, Va., proved that despite her svelte 5-foot-5, 107-pound figure, she can hang with the big boys. She wowed the incredulous crowd by calmly shoveling down hot dog after hot dog, her mascara streaming down her face.
"Twenty-five!" she beamed after the contest, referring to the number of frankfurters she downed.
But it was Kobayashi who continued to mesmerize the audience as he cleared plate after plate of hot dogs and buns.
Sticking to his old "Solomon" method rather than busting out a new method as he had threatened to do, Kobayashi snapped each dog in half, squeezing the meat inside his fists before chomping down on each half simultaneously.
Then he'd rip the bun in half, dunk the pieces in cups of water and and shove them into his mouth.
Despite his Zen-like focus, Kobayashi simply couldn't achieve the speed he needed to break his record. At times during the 12 minute eat-off, he stopped to jump up and down and then wriggle to help the food down.
Kobayashi vowed yesterday that he'd be back again next year to defend his mustard-yellow belt.
He said he planned to skip dinner last night. But that's not to say he might not feel like a bite later.
"If I put my mind to it, I could eat more," he said.
***
how was your 4th?
The dogs are war
By MAKI BECKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, July 5th, 2003
After failing to finish his 45th and last frankfurter, Takeru (The Tsunami) Kobayashi slammed his fist on the table yesterday.
It wasn't that he had lost.
None of the competition at the annual Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest came close to touching the Tsunami - especially William (The Refrigerator) Perry, who bowed out with a feeble four dogs eaten.
It's just that he fell six franks short of breaking his record of 501/2 hot dogs, set last year. And that, frankly, was enough to send the three-time champ collapsing to his knees in self-disgust.
"It's mortifying," the 25-year-old eating contest pro said afterward.
But the human Pac-Man was quickly heartened by a gaggle of young Japanese women who screamed for him to show them his tummy.
He gladly complied, lifting his white Nathan's T-shirt to reveal his bulbous belly stretched tight as a giant drum.
"Your stomach is cute!" his fans squealed while snapping photos.
Kobayashi was not the only star of the Fourth of July gustatory extravaganza in Coney Island.
Edward (Cookie) Jarvis, 36, of Nesconset, L.I., made Americans proud by breaking the U.S. record yesterday, forcing down 30-1/2 hot dogs - a feat of franks that earned him second place.
And Sonya Thomas, 35, of Alexandria, Va., proved that despite her svelte 5-foot-5, 107-pound figure, she can hang with the big boys. She wowed the incredulous crowd by calmly shoveling down hot dog after hot dog, her mascara streaming down her face.
"Twenty-five!" she beamed after the contest, referring to the number of frankfurters she downed.
But it was Kobayashi who continued to mesmerize the audience as he cleared plate after plate of hot dogs and buns.
Sticking to his old "Solomon" method rather than busting out a new method as he had threatened to do, Kobayashi snapped each dog in half, squeezing the meat inside his fists before chomping down on each half simultaneously.
Then he'd rip the bun in half, dunk the pieces in cups of water and and shove them into his mouth.
Despite his Zen-like focus, Kobayashi simply couldn't achieve the speed he needed to break his record. At times during the 12 minute eat-off, he stopped to jump up and down and then wriggle to help the food down.
Kobayashi vowed yesterday that he'd be back again next year to defend his mustard-yellow belt.
He said he planned to skip dinner last night. But that's not to say he might not feel like a bite later.
"If I put my mind to it, I could eat more," he said.
***
how was your 4th?