Hot dog eating champ defends title
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Hot dog eating champ Kobayashi holds up the coveted yellow "Mustard Belt" following his victory Friday.
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CONEY ISLAND, New York (CNN) -- Japanese champion Takeru Kobayashi retained his title Friday in Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York, downing 44 and 1/2 hot dogs in 12 minutes.
Kobayashi, known as "The Tsunami," was not able to beat last year's record of 50 and 1/2 hot dogs but said "next year I'll break the record for sure." Nevertheless, it was his third straight victory and means he gets to keep the coveted yellow "Mustard Belt" awarded the champion.
The record of hot dogs eaten by an American was broken this year by Cookie Jarvis, a New York City train conductor, who ate 30 and 1/2 hot dogs and buns. He took the title from last year's second place winner, Eric "Badlands" Booker who fell to third place with 29 hot dogs.
The Hot Dog Eating Contest also proved to be a historical day for women with Sonya Thomas downing 25 hot dogs to break the female record. Also, former Chicago Bears player William "The Refrigerator" Perry, thought to be a strong contender could not make it past his 4th hot dog.
Kobayashi, 25, of Nagano, Japan shattered the competition which featured 20 other contestants -- a group representing the United States, Canada, and Germany.
The Japanese wonder, who weighed in Thursday at 145 pounds with the coveted mustard yellow belt,15 more pounds than last year, credits his success to months of training and meditation.
Kobayashi, who was the odds on favorite going into the race, will also receive a trophy and a year's supply of Nathan's hot dogs.
This was Nathan's Famous' 88th annual contest. It has been held at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn each year since 1916, when Nathan Handwerker took the advice of Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante and invested $300 to open his famous hot dog restaurant.
