But is it SPORT?

The name Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi may not ring any bells for many of you, but mention that name on the world’s ‘Competitive Eating’ circuit and the crowd usually goes wild. Nobody in the entire world can put away a hotdog faster than Kobayashi. He holds the current world record with 53 and three quarters hotdogs in just 12 minutes, buns and all! As if that’s not enough he is also the worlds champ with regards to scoffing cow brains and rice balls. Kobayashi is so serious about eating that in 2004, he founded the 'United Food Fighters Oranisation' as an attempt to make the world take competitive eating seriously as a sport. Mr. Kobayashi takes it very seriously indeed, in fact so seriously that his rigorous training for his chance to win the next ‘Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Event’ for the seventh year running has resulted in jaw arthritis. The professional eater can hardly manage an M&M at the moment, never mind a hotdog, probably to the absolute delight of other professional hotdog gorgers. Looks like this years Coney Island event in New York could see the emergence of a new hotdog champ. San Jose's Joey Chestnut smashed Kobayashi's record earlier this month by downing 59 and a half "HDB's" (Hotdogs with Buns) at the Southwest Regional Hotdog Eating Championship and is a hot favorite as he placed second at last years world championship at Nathans gobbling up 52 hotdogs. His win puts the pressure on Kobayashi if he manages to get his jaw back in shape by July 4th.

If you get the chance to watch it and you’ve never experienced ‘Competitive Eating’......... DON’T eat beforehand (just in case) and you probably wont feel like eating afterwards either. They definitely work hard, but is it sport? In recent years the Japanese have begun to shy away from competitive eating contests after a 14-year-old junior high school student choked to death in 2002 trying to imitate competitive eating during a school lunch.