July 4, 2004: Coney Island

lunch for us was lemonade, a dog, and cheddar bacon fries

competitors had 12 min. to eat as many hot dogs (with buns) as possible

past accomplishments by these world-class eaters include 65 hard boiled eggs in under 7 min., 8 lbs. of mayonnaise in 8 min., and 11 lbs. of cheesecake in 9 min.

takeru with trophy after winning

he's 24 years old and weighs 132 lbs.. this year, he ate 53 1/2 hot dogs

also notable- 3rd place winner, sonya thomas, weighs 105 lbs. and broke both the women's and american record with 32 hot dogs

takeru kobayashi, and a girl i don't know

after the competition, shoot the freak

huge crowds were on the beach and a (garbage?) barge chilled out close by

at one point, a helicopter buzzed the beach

this is the view down the beach

we'll be back next year

Links

The International Federation of Competitive Eating

Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas

slanted.org/