In the annual Fourth of July hotdog eating competition, which was held in Coney Island, New York, 23-year-old man from California emerged as the new world? hotdog eating champion. Joey Chestnut knocked off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi from Japan by gobbling up 66 hotdogs in 12 minutes. This means he inhaled one hotdog every 10.9 seconds!
?f I needed to eat another one right now, I could,?Chestnut said after winning the contest. ?his title? been held by Kobayashi for six years, so it? about time it came home,?said Chestnut, holding an American flag in his arms.

Kobayashi, the Japanese eating machine, recently suffered from a sore jaw as he practiced for the contest and had a hard time opening his mouth. However, the winner of every hotdog competition from 2001 to 2006 showed no ill effects and did his best until the very end of the 12-minute competition. He finished with 63 hotdogs. Kobayashi promised to return for the 2008 event.
Even though hotdog eating contest seems weird to most of us, eating contests are very popular sports in the U.S. Since I love eating, I should challenge Chestnut next year. Who knows? Maybe I will be the new eating champion!

Contributing writer Alice Lee