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American eating sensation Joey Chestnut demonstrated once again why he is competitive eating's new superstar and the undisputed number one ranked eater in the world. Fending off a full table of the world's best today, the 23-year-old from San Jose, Calif. devoured 103 Krystal hamburgers in eight minutes to win the Krystal Square Off IV World Hamburger Eating Championship, held along the banks of the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga.
Chestnuts' historical win marks the first time an eater has broken the once-inconceivable "100 Krystals in eight minutes" barrier and surpasses the previous world record of 97 Krystals held by Japan's Takeru Kobayashi, set at last year's Krystal Square Off. "With his 103 Krystals today, Chestnut reaffirms his position as the greatest athlete in the world right now," said Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating, the governing body of all stomach-centric sports. "If he keeps at this pace, he'll soon eclipse Takeru Kobayashi as the greatest eater to have ever lived." Currently the number three ranked eater in the world, Kobayashi did not defend his Krystal hamburger title this year due to continued jaw pain. Kobayashi has won the Krystal Square Off the past three years. Presented by The Krystal Company and featuring the iconic fresh, hot, small, square Krystal hamburger, the Krystal Square Off is one of the two majors in the sport of competitive eating and the only world hamburger eating championship sanctioned by Major League Eating "We never thought we'd see someone anywhere near, let alone past the century mark when we started the Krystal Square Off in 2004. But like when Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier more than 50 years ago, Joey Chestnut has set a new benchmark today for all moving forward," said Brad Wahl, vice president of marketing, The Krystal Company. While Chestnut dominated the field the entire contest, the battle for second between 22-year-old rising star Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti and "Humble Bob" Shoudt, 39, was the closest ever in Krystal Square Off history with just one Krystal separating the two eaters. In an upset, Shoudt, ranked seventh in the world, consumed 95 Krystals to edge out Bertoletti, the number two ranked eater in the world. As this year's winner, Chestnut walks away with $10,000 and the coveted Krystal Square Off Champion's Belt and Trophy made out of crystal. Shoudt's runner-up finish earns him $7,500, while Bertoletti takes home $3,500. The remaining top ten finalists receive payouts ranging from $2,300 to $500. An audience of more than six thousand people were on hand to watch this year's Krystal-eating contest. A live national television audience also watched on ESPN. The official results are as follows:
Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, San Jose, CA - 103
While this is just the fourth year of the Krystal Square Off, Krystal has been hosting eating contests ever since it first opened its doors in 1932. Indeed, Krystal's second customer, Roy Ward, claimed he could eat twice as many Krystals as French Jenkins, the chain's first customer. He did just that by eating 12 Krystals, and according to legend invented the famous Krystal Sackful in the process. The years have passed, but Krystal Lovers have never stopped challenging each other to Krystal Eating Contests. This long-standing tradition became official in 2004 with the first Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship.
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