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Kobayashi Says He Would Have Won Hot Dog Contest
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 22, 2010
Modified Jul 22, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 22, 2010
Modified Jul 22, 2010
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Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi is fresh out of jail after being charged with obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, trespassing and disorderly conduct at this year's Nathan's Famous July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest. While he usually finds himself behind a stack of hot dogs at the annual event, this year he refused to bend to Major League Eating's contract and wasn't allowed to compete. Instead, the "Tsunami" showed up and stormed the stage.
Now AOL News catches up with the famous eater—in what's part-interview/part-smack-talking session, Kobayashi claims he could have taken down Joey Chestnut this year. He declared: "I was ready to beat the world record... when I see the record of the top, I probably would have beat that." It's worth noting that he's lost to Chestnut the past three years, and there has been some speculation that he didn't want to lose again. That said, Chestnut came out on top for a fourth consecutive year by eating 14 fewer hot dogs than during 2009's contest.
Kobayashi will now head to court on August 5th; immigration lawyers told AOL that he could have his visa revoked if he's convicted. While he's been keeping mum about legal issues, he did say he hopes to compete in the U.S. again.
Tagged
Competitive Eating
contest
court
hot dogs
jail
takeru kobayashi
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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