Tim Janus
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Tim Janus (born Dec. 31, 1976) is a competitive eater from New York City known in the competitive eating community as "Eater X." He is a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), and is one of the most colorful IFOCE characters, both literally and figuratively. He always performs in contests wearing a painted mask and once stated "I'd eat anything. One of my goals is to eat everything in the world. I'd eat a roll of pennies. I hope we make contact with beings from other planets. I'd eat alien."[1]
The IFOCE's 2004 Rookie of the Year, in the summer of 2005 Janus advanced to the Final Four of the inaugural Alka Seltzer U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, a single-elimination tournament featuring 32 of the world's best eaters. He is the current tamale-, cannoli-, burrito-, and tiramisu-eating champion of the world.
In 2006, Janus was featured on the show "True Life: I'm a Competitive Eater" along with then world-champion hot-dog eater Takeru Kobayashi. The show showcased his daily life, including his training for different events.
In 2007, Tim was a test subject in a documentary, The Science of Speed Eating from National Geographic. He underwent an upper gastrointestinal series and was shown to have a stomach that expands four times larger than a normal stomach. His digestive rate of the stomach was also slower than a normal human.
On July 4, 2007, just before the release of the last Harry Potter book, Janus appeared on-stage at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest with a sign saying "Hermione dies".[2] Janus would later admit that the stunt led to rules against signage at competitive eating events, and that he suffered a significant amount of personal backlash for the prank.[1]
On September 22, Tim Janus ate 10 3/4 18-ounce burritos (made of rice, black beans, pork, cheese and a mild sauce wrapped in a tortilla) in a 12 minutes to win the $3,000 Costa Vida world burrito-eating championship.[3]
On November 21, 2007, Tim Janus helped draw attention to the plight of New York City's homeless by consuming a Thanksgiving meal for four, including a 10-pound turkey, four pounds of mashed potatoes, three pounds of cranberry sauce, 2½ pounds of beans, and a pumpkin pie. The IFOCE donated $6,000 to Second Harvest, a hunger-relief organization, to celebrate the accomplishment. Second Harvest estimated that the donation would provide 30,000 meals to area residents.
He is the current champion of the Doodle Challenge, a hamburger eating contest in Connecticut.
Tim appeared on the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire during its current (8th) season, winning $100,000 before choosing to walk away, although he had surmised the correct answer to the $250,000 question. He sat in the fifth seed for Millionaire's "Tournament of Ten," where the ten highest earning contestants from the season's first 45 shows will return for a chance to answer a million dollar question. Tim returned on November 16 to see his million dollar question, but ultimately decided to take his original winnings.
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[edit] World records
- Tamales: 71 in 10 minutes on September 1, 2007
- Cannoli: 26 six-inch cannoli in 6 minutes on September 15, 2006
- Burritos: 10.75 eighteen-ounce burritos (12.1 lb) in 12 minutes on September 22, 2007
- Ramen Noodles: 10.5 lbs. noodles using chopsticks in 8 minutes on October 27, 2007
- Fried Pork Rinds: 14.3 oz. in 6 minutes on January 31, 2008
- Nigiri Sushi: 141 pieces nigiri sushi in 6 minutes on April 11, 2008
[edit] Personal life
Janus's roommate, Crazy Legs Conti, is also a competitive eater.[1]
