Hot Dog Champ Eats His Way to Another Title

He gorged, and gulped and nearly gagged.

And then, in a last-minute feeding frenzy, Takeru Kobayashi of Japan--the Michael Jordan of hot dog eating--defended his world title by gobbling a world record 50 1/2 franks in just 12 minutes.

The reed-thin Kobayashi plowed through an average of one hot dog every 14.25 seconds to ensure he would retain the mustard yellow championship belt in the 87th competition at Nathan’s Famous on New York’s Coney Island.

Kobayashi, 24, employed the “Solomon method”: snapping the hot dogs in half, then simultaneously shoving both pieces into his mouth.

Before the contest, Kobayashi weighed in at 113 pounds. After he won, he’d ballooned to 129.