The sport of competitive eating has been given a large platform thanks to the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. But unfortunately, a true trailblazer of the event has decided to call it quits on his competitive eating career.
Anyone who watches the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest should know the name Takeru Kobayashi quite well, first winning the event in 2001 and later winning five mustard belts in consecutive years from 2001-2006.
Kobayashi is perhaps best known for his battles with well-known competitive eater Joey Chestnut in the late 2000s. Chestnut famously unseated Kobayashi in 2007 to win his first mustard belt.
For fans of competitive eating, Kobayashi is commonly referred to as the “Godfather” of the sport. But it turns out, it is finally time for the godfather to walk away from the sport entirely.
In a recently released Netflix documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut, Kobayashi revealed that he would no longer be competitive eating, citing health concerns for his decision, even saying that his unhealthy eating habits have caused him to have “no appetite or ability to smell food”.
“I want to live a healthy and long life,” said Kobayashi in the documentary, transcribed by TMZ. “So I’ve decided to quit competitive eating contests.”
Hopefully Kobayashi can indeed live a long and healthy life moving forward now that his competitive eating career is officially behind him.
[TMZ]
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.