The world of competitive eating got a little more exciting Monday when legendary frankfurter scarfing machine Takeru Kobayashi crashed the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest and had to be dragged away by police.
Watch video of Kobayashi’s arrest
Kobayashi, a Japanese competitive eater nicknamed The Tsunami, is a six-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion. But he hasn’t won since 2006, finishing second in the last three years to arch rival Joey Chestnut. Kobayashi was barred from this year’s contest on Coney Island due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating.
Despite the ban, Kobayashi showed up at the contest wearing a "Free Kobi" T-shirt and was later arrested after trying to jump on stage.
In a press statement, Major League Eating had this to say about the arrest:
"Takeru Kobayashi’s actions at the Hot Dog Contest in Coney Island were inappropriate and unfortunate, but it did not diminish Joey Chestnut’s victory, or the holiday tradition that dates back generations. Kobayashi was a great champion and we hope that he is able to resolve his current situation and move past this."
The world of competitive eating is tightly controlled and members of MLE are not permitted to enter contests that are not sanctioned by the league. Kobayashi had been under contract, and is still currently listed as the number three ranked eater behind Chestnut and Bob Shoudt.
Toronto’s own renowned competitive eater "Furious" Pete Czerwinski, despite being one of the most successful competitive eaters in the world, is also left out of Major League Eating events because he isn’t under contract. Despite that, Czerwinski has set a number of world eating records and hasn’t lost a contest since October 2009 when he finished second at a dumpling eating contest — his first and only loss.
