David O'Karma

Last updated

David "Coondog" O'Karma is a competitive eating champion, entertainer, and writer from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He was formerly a member of the IFOCE, but is now the director of a Competitive Eating organization called the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters (AICE).

Contents

Competitive eating

He started competitive eating at age 15 in Cuyahoga Falls, at Church's Chicken on Portage Trail. He ate 13 sweet potato pies in one minute to become the WCUE Sweet Potato Pie-eating Champion. From there he entered the Hoolihan and Big Chuck Show's Pizza Fight of the Century and became the only other person (besides Robert "Wild Mouth" Tilk) to defeat champion eater Mariano "Mushmouth" Pacetti.

On July 4, 1974, Coondog set his first world record by eating 45 hard-boiled eggs in 8 minutes and 10 seconds, becoming the WCUE Egg-Sucking Champion. Later that summer, at the Cuyahoga Falls Kid's Carnival.

In 2001, Coondog O'Karma came out of a self-imposed retirement of 27 years to win the Nathan's Famous Middletown, New York regional hotdog eating contest, qualifying him for the Nathan's Famous Coney Island 4th of July Hotdog Eating Contest in Coney Island where he finished in 7th with 17 hotdogs.

Over the course of his career, he has held world records in doughnut, hard-boiled egg and corn on the cob consumption. In addition to American events, Coondog has also traveled to Japan for a Sushi eating competition and to meet with Takeru Kobayashi. [1] He has been ranked as high as 14th in the world by the IFOCE.

In addition to these successes, however, there have been letdowns in his career. He was disqualified from the 2002 Wing Bowl after vomiting. He had eaten over 100 wings by that point. [2] He eventually retired from Competitive Eating due to his family's concerns about its effect on his health. [3]

In April 2006 Jason Fagone's book on competitive eating, Horsemen of the Esophagus , featured Coondog as one of three competitive eaters profiled in the book.

Writing

In addition to competitive eating, Coondog writes poetry and essays. In April 2004 Coondog published his first volume of poetry under the title "Wit and Whimsy of a White Trash Jesus." Several of his writings have won awards, including the Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards first place in the Open Essay category.

Event promotion

In August 2006 Coondog co-hosted the National Hamburger Festival in Akron, Ohio. The festival was held to honor local food innovators Frank and Charles Menches, who claimed to have invented the hamburger in 1885. The festival included a hamburger eating contest, which O'Karma won.

In 2002 he left the IFOCE after conflicts occurred with its owner, George Shea. He disagreed with IFOCE management regarding several issues, including concerns about the health and pay of competitive eaters. [4] He later joined forces with a smaller competitive eating league, the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters (AICE), which was established by his friend eater Arnie "Chowhound" Chapman. He now serves as the Director of Operations for the AICE.

Personal life

Coondog was born in Akron, Ohio, and was raised in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He attended Cuyahoga Falls High School, where he was a varsity swimmer. [5] Coondog later attended Kent State University and has worked as a painter and construction contractor. [6] He is married with two children.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of the Midwestern United States</span> Regional cuisine of the United States

The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takeru Kobayashi</span> Japanese competitive eater (born 1978)

Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi is a Japanese competitive eater. Described as "the godfather of competitive eating", he is a six-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion and widely credited with popularizing the sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest</span> American food eating competition

The Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition. It is held each year on July 4 at Nathan's Famous' original, and best-known, restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonya Thomas</span> Korean-American competitive eater (born 1967)

Sonya Thomas , also known by her nickname The Black Widow, and "The Leader of the Four Horsemen of the Esophagus", is a South Korean-born American competitive eater from Alexandria, Virginia. Thomas joined the International Federation of Competitive Eating in 2003 and quickly rose to the top of the ranks, beating competitive eaters such as Eric Booker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Competitive eating</span> Activity in which participants compete to consume large quantities of food

Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions can last up to thirty minutes, with the person consuming the most food being declared the winner. Competitive eating is most popular in the United States, Canada, and Japan, where organized professional eating contests often offer prizes, including cash.

Bob Shoudt, also known as "Humble Bob" or "Notorious B.O.B.", is an American competitive eater from Royersford, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krystal Square Off</span> World Hamburger Eating Championship

The Krystal Square Off was the official World Hamburger Eating Championship from 2004 to 2009, taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee and sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). In this event, contestants ate as many Krystal hamburgers as possible in eight minutes.

<i>Eat This Book</i> 2006 non-fiction book by Ryan Nerz

Eat This Book is a book by Ryan Nerz which explores the world of competitive eating. Published by St. Martin's Press in 2006, Eat This Book provides a firsthand look into this sometimes controversial sport. Nerz, who spent a year as an emcee for the International Federation of Competitive Eating, has firsthand insight into the competitive eating phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Chestnut</span> American competitive eater (born 1983)

Joseph Christian Chestnut is an American competitive eater. As of 2024, he is ranked first in the world by Major League Eating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Janus</span> American competitive eater and reality show contestant

Tim Janus is an American entertainer, media personality and retired competitive eater known in the competitive eating community as "Eater X". He was a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). He performed in contests wearing a painted mask and once stated, "I'd eat anything. One of my goals in life is to eat everything in the world at least once. I'd eat a roll of pennies if I thought I could set a world record. Some day I hope we make contact with beings from other planets. I'd love to eat alien."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Bertoletti</span> American competitive eater

Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti is an American competitive eater from Chicago. He takes part in a variety of different eating competitions—notable wins include the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and the first-ever world poutine eating competition in Toronto. He also holds numerous world records, including the most milk consumed in an hour.

Charles Hardy, known as Hungry Charles Hardy, was an American competitive eater from Brooklyn, New York, United States. Hardy was a long-standing member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. He retired from the sport in 2005 to become the IFOCE's commissioner. During the latter half of 2004, Hungry Charles displayed dominance in eating, placing second and third in major events throughout the USA. Hardy secured victory for six consecutive years in the Civil Service qualifier for the hot dog circuit and he maintains records in sushi, shrimp, and cabbage.

<i>Horsemen of the Esophagus</i> 2006 book by Jason Fagone

Horsemen of the Esophagus by Jason Fagone is a nonfiction book about the sport of competitive eating and the outsized American appetite. Horsemen follows three American "gurgitators" during a year on the pro eating circuit: Ohio housepainter David "Coondog" O'Karma, South Jersey truck driver Bill "El Wingador" Simmons, and Manhattan day-trader Tim "Eater X" Janus. Horseman makes stops at 27 competitive eating contests around the world, including the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island and includes an interview with Nathan's champion at the time, Takeru Kobayashi.

The Big Eat is a one-hour factual entertainment documentary shown on Channel 4 and produced by Twofour which follows the search for and training of a British Champion to compete in the Competitive Eating World Championships in New York City.

Steven "Steve" Keiner is an American competitive eater. He was the 1999 winner of the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, downing 20¼ hot dogs in 12 minutes. Keiner is from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and like many competitive eaters has used nicknames during contests; one of his nicknames, "Ralph," was given to him by newspaper reporter Gersh Kuntzman, because Kuntzman "gave the eaters nicknames that linked them to sporting heroes past". Keiner is also sometimes known on the competitive eating circuit as "The Terminator."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Booker</span> American competitive eater and rapper

Eric James "Badlands" Booker, also known by his online pseudonym BadlandsChugs, is an American competitive eater, rapper, and YouTuber. He holds seven Major League Eating recognized world records, three Guinness World Records, is a four-time Nathan's Lemonade Chugging Contest champion, and competed in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest every year from 1997 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major League Eating</span> Competitive eating league

Major League Eating (MLE) is an organization that oversees professional competitive eating events and television specials. The league airs its annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Fagone</span> American journalist and author

Jason Fagone is an American journalist and author. His work has appeared in GQ, Wired, Esquire, The Atlantic, New York, Grantland, The New York Times, and the Huffington Post Highline, among other outlets. In 2002, the Columbia Journalism Review named him one of "Ten Young Writers on the Rise". He currently writes investigative stories for The San Francisco Chronicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamdog</span> Sandwich made of a split beef patty and a hot dog

A hamdog is a combination of a hamburger and a hot dog. Dishes of this name have been invented in Australia and the United States.

Dale Boone is an American competitive eater who holds several records for, among others, devouring pelmeni and hot dogs. Having been featured on numerous television programmes, he has proclaimed himself "Mouth of the South". Boone claims to be the great grandson of Daniel Boone.

References

  1. ↑ Horsemen of the Esophagus by Jason Fagone, 61. ( ISBN   0-30723738-9)
  2. ↑ Horsemen of the Esophagus by Jason Fagone, 39. ( ISBN   0-30723738-9)
  3. ↑ Park, Madison (3 July 2009). "Speed eaters gain weight, clog arteries but have few regrets". cnn.com. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Horsemen of the Esophagus by Jason Fagone, 41. ( ISBN   0-30723738-9)
  5. ↑ Horsemen of the Esophagus by Jason Fagone, 64. ( ISBN   0-30723738-9)
  6. ↑ Horsemen of the Esophagus by Jason Fagone, p.70. ( ISBN   0-30723738-9)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.