Trying To Convince Your Body To Dance It All Down

Takeru Kobayashi bravely defended his competitive eating title against young upstart Joey Chestnut during yesterday’s hot dog eating contest at Coney Island:

Takeru Kobayashi managed to scarf down 53 3/4 frankfurters in 12 minutes to remain top dog at the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The 160-pound Japanese eating machine took his sixth straight crown and even managed to best his own record of 53 1/2 dogs, which he set in 2004.

“I feel great,” Kobayashi said through a translator after the stomach-turning contest.

Kobayashi’s closest competition came from 220-pound Joey Chestnut, who struggled to stuff 52 dogs down his gullet.

The two were neck-and-neck — or rather, throat-and-throat — for much of the contest, but Kobayshi’s well-honed style of dipping the dogs in liquid before letting them slide down his throat was too much for Chestnut to handle.

“I know I can do more,” said Chestnut, 22, whose game plan was to gyrate back and forth. “I’m trying to convince my body to dance it all down,” he said.

Backstory: Let’s Return The Competitive Eating Championship Where It Belongs: The Good ‘Ol Girth-Loving U. S. Of A.

For further study: International Federation of Competitive Eating.