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.
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.
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.
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.
Nathan's Famous, Inc. is an American company that operates a chain of fast-food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The company's headquarters are at One Jericho Plaza in Jericho, part of Oyster Bay, New York.
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.
Joseph Christian Chestnut is an American competitive eater. As of 2024, he is ranked first in the world by Major League Eating.
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."
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.
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.
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.
Food challenges, such as the gallon challenge or the saltine cracker challenge, are specific challenges or competitions involving food. Milk chugging is a popular competitive eating challenge on college campuses, and was promoted by MTV's Jackass in the early 2000s via their various food skits. Some challenges involve eating foods that may be considered disgusting by those taking the challenge.
Miki Victoria Sudo is an American competitive eater. She has been undefeated in the women's competition at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, with a ten-year winning streak since 2014, unseating Sonya Thomas, who had won the women's competition since its inception in 2011. She captured a record tenth title in 2024. She has the current women's record for the contest, with 51 hot dogs eaten in it, which she did in 2024.
Yasir Salem is an American triathlete, marathon enthusiast, cyclist, and competitive eater. He is currently ranked number 11 in Major League Eating’s list of competitive eaters.
Carmen Cincotti is an American competitive eater and holder of multiple records in Major League Eating, who earned $10,000 for his second-place finish in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2017 in which he ate 60 hot dogs in ten minutes, twelve fewer than repeat champion Joey Chestnut. From August 2018 to June 2019, he was ranked number two in Major League Eating.
Edward “Cookie” Jarvis is a retired competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). He is a real estate agent, married father of two, and cancer survivor. When Cookie Jarvis became a competitive eater in 2001, he was 365 pounds, and retired in 2006 reaching 525 pounds. His best finish in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest came in 2003, when he set an American record of 30½ hot dogs in 10 minutes. This put him in second place behind Takeru Kobayashi.
Michelle Cristeen Lesco is an American competitive eater. She is the 2021 women's champion in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, with 30.75 hot dogs and buns consumed in 10 minutes on July 4, 2021, ending Miki Sudo's 7-year reign.
George Shea is a co-founder of Major League Eating and host of the company's main eating competition, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. He is known for wearing his signature straw hat to all the hot dog competitions.
Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef was a one-hour competitive eating special that was live-streamed by Netflix on September 2, 2024.
