6.27.2007

kobayashi sidelined by eating injury


Well, I figured it was bound to happen sooner or later... Takeru Kobayashi of Japan, the six-time champion of the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, may be sidelined for next week's event by a severe jaw injury. That's right. His jaw: Jaw ailment could sideline eating champ. Earlier this week, he said on his website that his "jaw has abandoned the frontline" during his training, with a specialist diagnosing him with arthiritis of the jaw. Now it looks like he might not be able to defend his title on the 4th.

And that, my friends, is part of the dark, dangerous world of competitive eating. Like I said, I kind of expected something like this would happen. The body cannot/should not take that kind of consumption. Though, I sot of imagined it being a lot more gruesome, like Kobayashi choking on a frank in the heat of competition, or his stomach literally exploding under the pressure of trying to break another hot dog speed/consumption record. GROSS. For updates on Kobayashi's condition (if you can read Japanese), go to his official website.

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