Yasir Salem
Yasir Salem | |
|---|---|
 Yasir Salem after winning the 2015 Donut Derby bicycle race | |
| Born | Yasir Salem Houston, Texas |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin (BA, Economics). Rutgers University (MBA) |
| Occupation(s) | Marketing Director, Competitive Eater |
| Known for | Tour de Donut champion, Donut Derby, competitive eating |
Yasir Salem is an American triathlete, marathon enthusiast, cyclist, and competitive eater. He is currently ranked number 11 in Major League Eating’s list of competitive eaters.[1]
Salem is the Tour de Donut and the Donut Derby champion. He is also the former National Sweet Corn Eating champion and world record-holder (47 ears of corn in 12 minutes),[2] and has competed in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest five times.
Salem frequently appears in the media to discuss his competitions and activities in outlets such as Runner's World magazine, Bicycling magazine, Triathlete magazine, Men's Health magazine, Men's Fitness magazine, ESPN, Muscle & Fitness, Women's Health, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, MSNBC, ABC.[3]
Biography[edit]
Salem was born in Houston, Texas. He is of Egyptian, Turkish and Armenian ancestry. He attended Clear Lake High School in Houston, Texas, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as an MBA at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Salem’s first Major League Eating win was at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier in Concord, North Carolina in 2012.[4] His first Major League Eating title came in September 2013, when he ate 31.75 cannoli at Little Italy’s Feast of San Gennaro Cannoli Eating Championship. Salem’s first Tour de Donut championship was the Tour de Donut Ohio in 2014.
Tour de Donut and Donut Derby[edit]
Tour de Donut[edit]
Salem has competed in several Tour de Donut road races across America. Each city’s annual bicycle race has cyclists race for 30 miles to earn the lowest times by eating donuts at two pit stops along the track. For each donut consumed, riders’ times are reduced by five minutes. Rather than award the first cyclist to cross the finish line, the champion with the lowest "donut-adjusted time" is named the winner of the race. Salem eats 12 donuts at a time during the races.[5]
Cities and years competed:
- Ohio: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
- Utah: 2014, 2015
- Illinois: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
- Austin: 2016, 2017
Donut Derby[edit]
Salem competed in Pennsylvania’s Donut Derby bicycle race in 2015, 2016 and 2017, achieving his best "donut style" bicycle race by eating 61 donuts over 36 miles for a donut-adjusted time of -31 minutes.[6]
Competitive eating[edit]
Salem’s entry into the competitive eating scene started as something of a joke. "I was watching the Nathan’s contest in 2008, and I thought, ‘Wow, all I have to do is eat a bunch of hot dogs and I can be on ESPN?’" he told Mental Floss.[7] He trains by eating a 4 to 6 pounds salad every day for lunch followed by a gallon of water.[8] He credits enlisting the help of a hypnotherapist as a key turning point in his success as a competitive eater.[9]
Triathlete, runner, and cyclist[edit]
Salem ran and completed his first marathon in the 2010 New York City Marathon. By June 2017, he had completed 20.[5]
He competed in his first New York City Triathlon in 2012, having only learned to swim that same year. He then competed in his first Ironman in 2013, and would complete four total by 2015.[10]
Salem owns 3 bicycles, and is known to use a Quintana Roo PR6 Ultegra Di2 with Reynolds Strike wheels for triathlons.[11]
He has stated his intent to run one marathon each month in 2017,[12] and is currently training for the 2018 Race Across the West and the 2019 Race Across America ultra-endurance bicycle races, which are 900 and 3,000 miles, respectively.[13]
Championships and world records held[edit]
2013[edit]
- Cannoli: 31.75 cannoli / 6 minutes (New York City, New York, September 13, 2013) at Feast of San Gennaro World Cannoli Eating Championship [14]
2014[edit]
- Donut Dash 5K champion: Donut-adjusted time of 3 minutes, 15 seconds / 22 donuts (Dayton, Ohio, June 28, 2014)[15]
- Tour de Donut Ohio ‘Double D’ champion: Donut-adjusted time of -32 minutes, 45 seconds / 48 donuts (Arcanum, Ohio, September 6, 2014)
- Utah Tour de Donut Donut King: Donut-adjusted time of -27 minutes / 40 donuts (American Fork, Utah, September 27, 2014)[16]
2015[edit]
- Tour de Donut Illinois champion: Donut-adjusted time of -1 hour, 36 minutes, 40 seconds / 50 donuts (Staunton, Illinois, July 11, 2015)[17]
- Tour de Donut Ohio ‘Double D’ champion: Donut-adjusted time of 71 minutes, 51 seconds / 44 donuts (Arcanum, Ohio, September 12, 2015)
- Donut Derby champion: Donut-adjusted time of -35 minutes, 6 seconds / 54 donuts (Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, September 7, 2015)
- Utah Tour de Donut Donut King: Donut-adjusted time of -14 minutes, 6 seconds / 36 donuts (American Fork, Utah, September 19, 2015)[16]
2016[edit]
- Corn on the cob world record: 47 corn / 12 minutes (West Palm Beach, Florida, April 24, 2016) at National Sweet Corn Eating Championship[2][18]
- Tour de Donut Illinois champion: Donut-adjusted time of -30 minutes, 41 seconds / 39 donuts (Staunton, Illinois, July 9, 2016)[19]
- Tour de Donut Ohio champion: Donut-adjusted time of -33 minutes, 15 seconds / 36 donuts (Arcanum, Ohio, September 10, 2016)
- Donut Derby champion: Donut-adjusted time of -9 minutes, 3 seconds / 55 donuts (Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, September 5, 2016)[20]
- Tour de Donut Austin champion: Donut-adjusted time of -1 hour, 19 minutes / 31 donuts (Austin, Texas, November 13, 2016) [21]
2017[edit]
- Tour de Donut Illinois donut king: Donut-adjusted time of -8 minutes, 46 seconds / 40 donuts (Staunton, Illinois, July 8, 2017)
- Donut Derby champion: Donut-adjusted time of -31 minutes / 61 donuts (Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, September 4, 2017)[22]
- Tour de Donut Ohio champion: Donut-adjusted time of -50 minutes, 37 seconds / 44 donuts (Troy, Ohio, September 16, 2017)[23][24]
- Tour de Donut Austin champion: Donut-adjusted time of -1 hour, 45 minutes / 37 donuts (Austin, Texas, November 12, 2017)[25]
Personal life[edit]
Salem resides in New York City and his two cats. His wife, Gweneviere Mann, a non-smoker, passed away on July 22, 2018 from lung cancer. She was 47.
He currently serves as Director, Group Marketing at Hearst for Esquire, Popular Mechanics, Car and Driver, and Road &Track.[26]
Salem’s hobbies include growing and eating his own supply of organic fruits, vegetables, microgreens, and sprouts in his NYC home.[27]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ a b "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "Home". Yasir Salem. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ a b "Marathon Runner Hungry for a New Challenge Turns to Competitive Eating". TWC News. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ Salem, Yasir (2017-09-04). "Just ate 61 donuts & won 2017 Donut Derby for 3rd yr in row! Donut adjusted time: -31min. Congrats @USMALE_DELIVERS for 2nd w/40 donuts!pic.twitter.com/JWJF368mat". @yasirsalem. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
- ^ "17 Secrets of a Competitive Eating Champion". 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ Training for Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, retrieved 2017-07-04
- ^ "Competitive Eaters Gear Up for Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York". The Daily Meal. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ Sheehan, Jennifer. "It's a race — to eat the most doughnuts". themorningcall.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "Who am I?". Yasir Salem. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "Yasir Salem can crush pounds of donuts while cycling for miles. Here's how he does it". Men's Fitness. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "The competitive eater's fitness plan: How to eat and train like donut-eating champion Yasir Salem". Men's Fitness. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ Salem, Yasir (2014-06-28). "I won Donut Dash 5K! w/new record 'donut adjust time' 3min15sec & record 22 donuts. Jaimie(F champ) & Tyler(M 3rd)pic.twitter.com/LWgXaCHRjN". @yasirsalem. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ a b "Race Results | 2017 Utah Tour de Donut". utahtourdedonut.org. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ Walker, Dale. "Home of The Tour de Donut". www.tourdedonut.org. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "17th annual South Florida Sweet Corn Fiesta on tap for Sunday". palmbeachpost. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "Tour de Donut 2016 Results". RacesOnline. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ "One of the world's top competitive eaters reveals what it's like". INSIDER. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ^ Yasir Salem (2017-01-07), 31 donuts eaten during 24 mile Tour De Donut bike race, retrieved 2017-07-04
- ^ "Donut Derby brings riders and junk food together". WFMZ. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ "Tour De Donut Ohio". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ "Tour De Donut". 1.thetourdedonut.com. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ Salem, Yasir (12 November 2017). "Just defended my Tour de Donut - Austin title & set new course records: - 37 donuts - Donut-adjusted time: -1hr45min Pic w/Erica Harshaw (overall Female) Other winners: -@texascycling (Team award) -Heidi Maldonado-Oviatt (most donuts eaten- Female) w/15pic.twitter.com/cCRdfqG7c8". @yasirsalem. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
- ^ "LinkedIn". Retrieved 2017-09-26.
- ^ "Who am I?". Yasir Salem. Retrieved 2017-07-04.