Police arrest Japanese ex-hot dog eating champ
NEW YORK — Police arrested a former Japanese speed-eating champion in New York after he tried to disrupt a traditional hot dog eating contest that he has won six times in…
NEW YORK — Police arrested a former Japanese speed-eating champion in New York after he tried to disrupt a traditional hot dog eating contest that he has won six times in the past.Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi, who had earlier pulled out of the contest, tried to storm the stage and disrupt Sunday's victory ceremony.Despite attempts by Kobayashi to disrupt the event, American Joey "Jaws" Chestnut ate his way to victory in the contest by wolfing down 54 hot dogs in just 10 minutes.The crowd chanted, "Let him eat! Let him eat!" But police slapped handcuffs on Kobayashi.Chestnut, the 26-year-old reigning champion, left the rest of the competition trailing as he retained the coveted prize, a mustard-yellow prize-fighter's belt, with room to spare.Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is the Super Bowl of competitive eating and the belt, which comes along with a purse of 20,000 dollars, is considered the holy grail.The event has become so popular in the United States that it is shown live on the cable channel ESPN and thousands turned out in a festival-like atmosphere on Sunday as temperatures soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).Chestnut's face contorted in visible pain as he swallowed his 54th wiener shortly before time was up, giving him a final rate of 5.4 dogs per minute and putting him nine ahead of second-placed Tim Janus.His stomach-turning -- well short of the 68-dog record he set last year -- came after Kobayashi ruled himself out of the traditional Independence Day event in Coney Island, Brooklyn because of a row with the organizers."If he was a real man he would be on the stage," Chestnut said, provoking the Japanese eating prodigy who claimed six successive titles at Coney Island before being trumped by the American in 2007, 2008 and 2009.The New York Police Department later confirmed that 32-year-old Kobayashi had been arrested and charged with resisting arrest, trespassing, and obstructing governmental administration."He was taken into custody for disrupting the Nathan's hot dog eating
last modification 2010-07-05 16:30:17
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