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It was double disappointment at Coney island this afternoon as three-time world hot dog–eating champion Joey Chestnut triumphed over 15 challengers at the annual Nathan’s contest — but he not only failed to come close to his history-making performances of the past, and he also had to watch as his greatest challenger, Takeru Kobayashi, rushed the stage at the end of the contest and was arrested.
It was a bizarre footnote to a fortnight of confusion that began when Kobayashi, a six-time world champ, refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating, the governing body of all stomach-centric sports, and was, therefore, not assigned a spot at the table of champions. That absence allowed Chestnut, who set the world record last year with 68 hot dogs and buns, to cruise to victory under scorching conditions with just 54 HDBs.
“I was not firing on all cylinders,” the champ told us seconds after winning the Mustard Yellow International Belt for the fourth straight year at the July 4 contest. “Of course, I wanted to set a record, but it was hot out there.”
He denied that Kobayashi’s absence prevented him from pushing himself as he had in the past.
“No, it was the heat,” the San Jose native said. “If Koby had been here, his numbers would have been down, too.”
As Chestnut basked in the victory, there was a minor disturbance on the left side of the table as Kobayashi rushed the stage and actually had to be detained by officers from the 60th Precinct stationhouse, where he was spirited away.
He was charged with trespassing and resisting arrest, though Major League Eating said it does not want to press charges.
“What I saw was not criminal but desperation,” said MLE Executive Director George Shea. “He doesn’t want to be a Major League Eater and then he shows up here? Why?”
That answer will await a comment from Kobayashi, who could not be reached for comment.
Kobayashi’s re-emergence stunned the crowd, which had been fed a steady diet of reports that he would not be at the contest because he had failed to sign a contract with Major League Eating, a story first broken by this paper.
His failure to compete had less to do with fear of Chestnut and more to do with declaring his free agency in one of the world’s fastest growing sport.
Indeed, footage of the Kobayashi arrest that is all over the Internet shows the Japanese speaker saying only, “Let me in [to compete” as he was taken away by police. He was wearing a “Free Kobi” T-shirt, and his translator added that the former champ only wanted a place at the table.
But that place was in question because of the contract dispute — a story that got so hot that even the mayor of the world’s greatest city felt compelled to weigh in last week.
“Well, you know what they say: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen,” the mayor said, drawing gasps from the press corps at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in.
Kobayashi later fired back that the mayor was uninformed, and he let it be known to some reporters that he was in New York City, though few could have predicted the bizarre ending.
Indeed, about an hour before the festivities started at the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues, Kobayashi’s personal manager — and girlfriend — sent out an e-mail to “his fans” to let them know of his plans to show up.
“Kobayashi will be going to the contest,” she wrote, claiming that he only intended to “cheer on his ex-fellow eaters in the spirit of July
4th.”
“But,” she added, “he will also be there and ready, if for any miraculous reason, he is allowed to compete, even without a secured contract.”
The “spirit of July 4th” ended in arrest and ignominy — though Major League Eating tried to take the high road.
“Takeru Kobayashi’s actions at the contest were inappropriate and unfortunate, but it did not diminish Joey Chestnut’s victory, or the holiday tradition that dates back generations,” the league said in a statement. “Kobayashi was a great champion and we hope that he is able to resolve his current situation and move past this.”
Chestnut also refused to let the detention of Kobayashi ruin the day.
“I just wish he’d figure out what he wants and work it out,” Chestnut said.
In the 10-minute contest, Tim “Eater X” Janus finished a distant second with 45 HDBs and Patrick Bertoletti finished third with 37.
©2010 Community Newspaper Group
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