How about competitive sleeping?

**snuffy2202** · 06-26-07, 03:34 PM

The world's most famous competitive eater finally bit off more than he could chew.

Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi, who has won six straight Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contests, suffered a serious jaw injury while training for the July 4 event, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Japanese eating legend was diagnosed with jaw arthritis and can barely open his mouth. In an entry on his blog entitled "Occupational hazard,'' Kobayashi said: "My jaw refused to fight any more.''

"I feel ashamed that I couldn't notice the alarm bells set off by my own body,'' he said. "But with the goal to win another title with a new record, I couldn't stop my training so close to the competition.

"I was continuing my training and bearing with the pain but finally I destroyed my jaw.''

Kobayashi, 29, set his first world record as a rookie in the Nathan's Famous contest in 2001. He ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes, nearly doubling the previous record. He upped the ante last year with 53¾.

Joey "Jaws" Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., recently broke that record by downing 59½ dogs in a Nathan's Famous regional qualifier, setting the stage for a showdown next month.

Kobayashi's injury puts his status in doubt, though he said on his blog that he wants to compete at Coney Island. "I want to be the pride of my mother,'' he said.

Kobayashi's mother died earlier this year and he halted his competitive eating activities for several months while mourning.

A niche celebrity in Japan and America, Kobayashi still holds world records in many eating competitions, including hamburgers, bratwurst sausages, lobster rolls, cows' brains and rice balls.

**Illiy** · 06-26-07, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by snuffy2202

The Japanese eating legend was diagnosed with jaw arthritis and can barely open his mouth..

I have that as well as TMJ and it is one of the most painful things I have ever delt with... there are times I can't open my mouth to eat, talk, yawn, sneeze... anything... I have to have my upper and lower jaw broken and reset to fix the problem