Japan ''prince'' shatters hot dog record
( 2001-07-06 08:52 ) (7 )

Japan's "prince" of power eating set a mark for the ages and left competitors looking on in amazement on Wednesday, doubling last year's record to win Nathan's annual hot dog eating contest.

Takeru "The Prince" Kobayashi, with his double-fisted munching technique, consumed 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes to win the coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt.

The previous record was 25-1/8 hot dogs, set by his compatriot, Kazutoyo "The Rabbit" Arai.

The slender Kobayashi, who tipped the scales at 131 pounds (59 kg) before his march into hot dog history, set a new standard for competitive eating in the annual event, held since 1916 at New York's Coney Island.

"I think I have room for another 20 hot dogs," Kobayashi said after the champion's belt was resting on his narrow shoulders and fans were shouting, "Show us your belly!"

Kobayashi downed 30 hot dogs in six minutes, which caught organizers off guard because their score sheets only went up to 30. As they scrambled to keep up, he tore through the rest, pushing the final two dogs into his mouth in the last seconds.

He munched on two hot dogs at a time, and when his hands were empty, he dipped the empty buns in water and then shoved them into his mouth.

He did a little dance as he chewed, and he just kept on going.

"I need to find a rhythm when I am eating and the dancing helps me to keep the beat," said Kobayashi, who said he never tries to impress dates with his prodigious consumption skills.

Arai set a new personal best of 31 hot dogs to come in second and the "Hungry" Charles Hardy of Brooklyn came in third with 23.

World haggis-eating champion Barry Noble, who set marks for downing the dish that consists of baked animal innards, said in all of his years of competitive eating and serving as a deacon in the local church in Kielder, England, he has never seen anything like Kobayashi.

"What he did was not real," Noble said. "It was frightening."