Kobayashi Downs Record 69 Hot Dogs To Win Simulcast Eating Competition

On a rooftop bar in mid-town Manhattan, six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi downed a record 69 hot dogs to become the unofficial winner of this year's annual Nathan's hot dog eating competition--only problem was, he was seven miles west of the actual boardwalk event on Coney Island.

With the Empire State Building as a backdrop and a ten-foot high TV screen broadcasting the sanctioned Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Competition in real-time on ESPN , Kobayashi went up against the competitors on the big screen and demolished the rest of the field over the air waves.

You know the new saying:  If you can't beat 'em face-to-face, join 'em via television simulcast. 

Four-time defending champ, Joey Chestnut, ate 62 hot dogs today and won the authentic competition from the Nathan's at Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Brooklyn, but it was Kobayashi who broke Chestnut's two-year old record of 68 and ate more hot dogs on this Fourth of July.

About 500 Kobayashi supporters crowded the 230 Fifth Avenue rooftop bar and braved overcast skies and dehydration as they cheered for their exiled competitive eating champion.

Kobayashi says he is banned from the Nathan's event due to a two year old contract dispute with Major League Eating which oversees the Nathan's annual event.  A clause in the contract stipulates Kobayashi cannot appear in certain eating competitions and the league would control his endorsements.

Last year in protest, Kobayashi was arrested at the Nathan's event after he climbed over a barrier and stormed the stage of the Nathan's contest.  He spent time in a New York City jail.

230 Fifth's owner, Steven Greenberg, said he approached Kobayashi with the simulcast idea after seeing Kobayashi's arrest last year.

"He [Kobayashi] is a cross between an athlete and a performer," said Greenberg.  "It's entertainment."

Greenberg said Kobayashi was paid for his hot dog eating appearance but said it wasn't an endorsement or promotional fee and wouldn't disclose the amount.

Today, Kobayashi stood alone on a stage with a table, which was measured to an exact height, two members of the New York State Athletic Commission--former-boxers Tyrone "The Harlem Butcher" Jackson and Brian Adams-- who acted as judges.

There was a timer on the table along with five large cups of water and a person to count the hot dogs devoured and flip a tally card.  The huge TV screen to Kobayashi's right dwarfed the smallish eater with a huge appetite.  He never looked at the screen even once.

The pro-Kobayashi crowd cheered loudly as he jumped to any early lead over Chestnut.  It was 36-27 at about the half-way mark and the Japanese eater never slowed down before crushing Chestnut.  Sixty-nine barkers later, Kobayshi held the unofficial title once again.

There was some concern at the end of the contest when some credentialed "spies" for Nathan's said there was confusion and a miscount.  The discretion was cleared up when the flipper/counter explained that they didn't only count hot dogs individually eaten, but also by the tray.  Each tray held five hot dogs and there was four left.  It was a two-step counting system.

After sixty-nine hot dogs and 18 pounds of additional weight, Kobayashi, sporting a blond-streaked mane, leaped to the table after the record was announced.  He shook his fist in triumph and pulled up his tee-shirt, which read "Kobi Unleashed" and puffed out his belly.

"I'm so happy to break the record in front of everyone," he beamed.

Asked if it was harder to compete with no one standing next to him Kobayashi said through a translator, "I compete for myself, I was battling myself today."

In the past, MLE president Richard Shea said the league wouldn't recognize Kobayashi's achievement if he wins.  "It's a farce," said Shea.  "He's not banned, he's just mad he lost three years in a row."

Kobayashi claims he has no hard feelings for the MLE.  He just doesn't want to sign a contract that restricts him.

Kobayashi may not lay claim to Nathan's "Mustard Yellow Belt" like  Chestnut, but he did break his record in public.

I don't know if simulcasting competitions from different venues to the same event is feasible or a wave of the future, but in this case it could set up the match-up everyone wants, Pacquaio vs. Mayweather...I mean Kobayashi vs. Chestnut.

Nathan's Hot-Dog Eating Contest Starting Women's-Only Division

The annual Nathan's Hot-Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island is adding a women's-only division to help even out the competition.  Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating, claims the 4th of July competition has been dominated by men for too long and it's time to open up the playing field.

According to the New York Post, the sausage-fest on the boardwalk's landmark decision will open up the sport to more female competitors.

It might become more popular than the men's division because the only thing more sensual than a woman caressing a hot dog, to the Nathan's frat boy audience, is when two dozen females are gulping them down by the cart load.

According to Shea, women account for only a couple of the world's top competitive eaters and only men have taken home the the "Mustard-Yellow Belt" at Nathan's.

"Serena Williams didn't have to beat Roger Federer to win the Wimbleton title, and we don't think Sonya Thomas should have to beat Joey Chestnut."  Chestnut is the four-time reigning Nathan's champion.

Thomas has her share of eating titles and is called "The Black Widow" because she has devoured as much food as she has men's egos.  The 44 year-old holds 38 world records and set the American record for hot-dog eating with 37 in 2007.  She lost to the Babe Ruth of competition eating Takero Kobayashi of Japan.

Thomas and Juliet Lee are the most visible and dominant women eaters on the circuit.  Both women weigh in at 105 pounds and have made the finals of the Nathan's hot-dog finals.

"On any given weekend, Sonya and Juliet can beat the guys," said Shea.  "But hot dogs seem to be different."

Shea claims the women hold records in cheesecake and cranberry sauce eating contests among others, but hot-dog eating is still dominated by the men.

The petite Thomas is known as a ringer in the sea-food eating competitions and trains by eating one big meal a day.

Lee, says being bigger has little to do with being a competitive food-eating champion.  It's more about the elasticity of your stomach.

"Your body size doesn't have anything to do with how much food you eat," the 45 year-old said.  "The larger people tend to have more fat on them and can't stretch as well."

Last year's competition at Nathan's was a let down after Kobayashi was arrested for trying to crash the event--contractual dispute--and satisfied his hunger with bologna sandwiches and Kool-Aid while chilling his taste buds in a central booking jail cell.

Chestnut won the belt by cramming an uninspired 54 tube steaks down his throat--14 short of his world record.

Now we'll have ladies vying for a separate belt.  Women's rights has come a foot-long way.