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The former 6 time hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi was arrested yesterday at Coney Island during Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. The former champ was brought up on charges of resisting arrest, trespassing and obstruction of governmental administration by the NYPD .
Kobayashi has been the darling of Japan ever since his emergence onto the competitive eating circuit in 2001. His rookie appearance at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest set a new world record of 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. He has since gone on to win 6 straight world hot dogs eating titles and countless small to medium sized contests around the world in the past 9 years.
On his blog, Kobayashi issued a statement recently explaining his decision to drop out of the 2010 Nathan’s Hot Dog contest. It seems there was a dispute between Major League Eating (a major contracting agency in the competitive eating world) and Kobayashi’s unwillingness to sign an exclusivity clause.
Attending the event as a spectator, Kobayashi lived up to his nickname “The Tsunami” by charging the stage after his fiercest competitor Joey Chestnut (Breaker and current holder of Kobayashi’s hot dog eating record) won the competition. A video released by The Associated Press showed Kobayashi clinging to the stage’s guard rail as 5 NYPD officers wrestled to bring him down. He was eventually pinned to a chain link fence, handcuffed, and taken to the police station. En route to the police car Kobayashi’s interpreter was asked why Kobayashi had rushed the stage. Her response was, “Through the contract dispute they weren’t giving him his freedom, it was unfair.”
The International Federation of Competitive Eating issued this statement earlier today, “Takeru Kobayashi’s actions at the Hot Dog Contest in Coney Island were inappropriate and unfortunate, but it did not diminish Joey Chestnut’s victory, or the holiday tradition that dates back generations. Kobayashi was a great champion and we hope that he is able to resolve his current situation and move past this- International federation of competitive eating.”
With an empty stomach and empty heart, Takeru Kobayashi was forced into the NYPD squad car as the crowd behind chanted fervently, “Free Kobi! Free Kobi!” Now out of jail, the one time competitive eating superstar faces an uncertain future legally and a shaky outlook on the remainder of his career, having been bested by Chestnut in the majority of his competitions over the past 3 years.
