Takeru Kobayashi

About Takeru Kobayashi

Takeru Kobayashi (小林尊, Kobayashi Takeru?) (b. March 15, 1978) is a Japanese competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). He held the world record for hot dog eating for nearly six years, and holds several other eating records, and is ranked third in the world for competitive eating according to the International Federation of Competitive Eating.

Born in Nagano, Japan, Kobayashi set his first record at his rookie appearance on July 4, 2001, when he ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the Nathan's Coney Island hot dog-eating contest, doubling the previous record of 25. The record was so unexpected that when Kobayashi got to the later numbers, the organizers ran out of signs indicating how many dogs Kobayashi had eaten and had to resort to handwritten signs. In 2002, he broke his own record by eating 50.5. In 2003, he won again by eating 44.5. In 2004, he triumphed again by eating 53.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes, beating his old record. There was a small conflict over this result, as some fellow competitors accused him of regurgitating during the 12-minute competition. Though regurgitation is not explicitly prohibited, once food enters the mouth of the contestant, it is not permitted to exit. In 2005, he managed to eat 49 hot dogs and win his fifth straight contest. In 2006, he ate 53.75 hot dogs for his sixth consecutive win and a new world record. On June 2, 2007, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut broke Kobayashi's record with 59.5 hot dogs and buns in a qualifying round for the annual Nathan's contest.

In the 2006 Krystal Square Off, Kobayashi's mark of 97 hamburgers was 30 better than his winning total in 2005 and 28 better than the World Record he set in 2004.