Joey Chestnut

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Joey "Jaws" Chestnut

Born November 25, 1983 (1983-11-25) (age 25)
Vallejo, California
Occupation Professional/ Competitive Eater with Major League Eating
Spouse(s) none
Children none
Parents Merlin and Alicia Chestnut

Joseph Christian "Jaws" Chestnut (born November 25, 1983) is an American competitive eater currently ranked first in the world by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. He is a Vallejo, California native who currently resides in San Jose, California.

On July 4, 2007, he won the 92nd Annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, beating six-time defending champion Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi by consuming 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes, which set a new world record. The following year, he successfully defended his title by winning a 5 hot dog eat-off after tying Kobayashi in consuming 59 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. On July 4, 2009, Joey Chestnut outlasted Kobayashi again, by consuming a new world record of 68 hot dogs and buns and winning his third consecutive title.

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[edit] Eating history

Chestnut, a San José State University student, entered the competitive eating scene in 2005 with a break-out performance in the deep-fried asparagus eating championship, in which he beat high-ranked eater Rich LeFevre by eating 6.3 pounds of asparagus in 11.5 minutes. That same year, during Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, he downed 32 dogs, placing third behind Takeru Kobayashi and Sonya Thomas.

Chestnut continued to impress the public by beating Sonya Thomas in the Waffle House World Waffle Eating Championship and placing second to her in a Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship qualifier, downing 56 Krystal Burgers in eight minutes to her 57. He later beat her by eating 91 hamburgers in the Finals, a close second to the 97 hamburgers consumed by Kobayashi.

Chestnut qualified for the 2006 Nathan's Contest by eating 50 hot dogs with buns. As July 4 approached, there was speculation that 2006 might be the year when Kobayashi would be beaten.[citation needed] It was not to be, however. Although Chestnut turned in a great performance, leading Kobayashi through most of the contest, the final tally put Chestnut at 52 and Kobayashi at 53-3/4 (a new world record).

In 2007, Chestnut won the Wing Bowl XV, another installment of the annual Philadelphia event at the Wachovia Center. In this competition, he ate 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes, a Wing Bowl champion and record holder.

Joey also completed the gallon of milk challenge (to drink one gallon of milk in under an hour) in 41 seconds.[1]

On July 4, 2007, Chestnut and Kobayashi battled the field in a record-setting hot dog eating battle in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, at Nathan's Contest. Chestnut knocked off Kobayashi 66-63, leading to the latter's first defeat in the contest in six years.

On October 28, 2007 between 2:33 and 2:41, Chestnut ate 103 Krystals in the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This was Chestnut's personal best, and is the new world record.

Starting off 2008 very well, Chestnut has already set two new world records. He devoured 241 wings in 30 minutes at the Wing Bowl XVI in Philadelphia on February 1, and he ate 78 matzo balls during Kenny & Ziggy's World Matzoh Ball Eating Championship in Houston, Texas on March 2.

On July 4, 2008, Chestnut tied Takeru Kobayashi in the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Contest after eating 59 HDB in 10 minutes. The tie resulted in a 5-hotdog eat-off, which Chestnut won by consuming all 5 hot dogs before Kobayashi. The 59 is a new record in the competition based on the reduction from 12 minutes to 10 minutes. Chestnut, 24, weighed in at 102 kilograms (225 pounds).[2]

On July 28, 2008, Chestnut lost to Takeru Kobayashi in Chicken Satay eating in the MLE Asia inaugural event. He consumed just over 4 kilos to Kobayashi's almost 5.5.

On August 23, 2008, Chestnut defeated #2 IFOCE ranked competitive eater Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti in the 2nd Gyoza Eating Championship in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California. He devoured 231 gyozas, setting a new world record; he beat his previous record of 212, set in the inaugural event in 2006 when he narrowly defeated Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (210). Thomas did not attend the 2008 event due to budgetary and travel costs.

On October 12, 2008, he consumed 45 slices of pizza, winning the "Famous Famiglia World Pizza Eating Championship", which was held in New York's Times Square. This would be a brief record until Bertoletti would consume 47 slices a few weeks later.[3]

On February 21, 2009, he consumed 10 and a half pounds of macaroni and cheese in seven minutes during halftime at the San Jose Stealth lacrosse game, beating out his contestants and adding another world record to his name. [4]

On July 4, 2009, Chestnut topped his previous world record of 59 hot dogs and buns with 68, in the 2009 Nathan's Hotdog Eating Contest.

[edit] Training

Chestnut trains by fasting and by stretching his stomach with milk, water, and protein supplements.[5] Three days before winning a chicken-eating contest in Boston, in November 2005, Chestnut drank gallons of water in under one minute and ate buffalo wings to get his stomach accustomed to them.[6] Since the start of his competitive eating career, his competition weight varies from 210-225 lbs (95.45 to 102.27 kg).

[edit] Other

Joey Chestnut currently also has a job as a construction engineer. [7]

[edit] World records held by Joey Chestnut

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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