Speed-Eating Legend Side Lined with Career Ending Injury

The AFP has reported a story that has many in the speed-eating contest world very sad. At appears that Tekeru "Tsumani" Kobayashi has sustained what could be a career ending injury.

After having pains in his jaw, Kobayashi went to see a doctor. The doctor came back with results that were not received will by Kobayashi. It appears that Kobayashi has arthritis in his jaw.

Kobayashi is listing this as an, "occupational hazard," and is very upset that he did not see the warning signs coming in the past. The 29-year-old speed-eating legend feels ashamed because he believes that he pushed himself too hard.

This has been a hard year for Kobayashi since he lost his mother earlier this year. He wanted to make sure that he placed first once again in the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog eating event in New York on Independence Day.

Kobayashi holds world records in both cow brain eating, and in eating rice balls. He holds records for the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest as well.

There are many that were amazed when he burst onto the scene because of the fact that the Japanese are normally though of to be very moderate eaters. His breaking of this mold, along with his records, added to his notoriety.

In 2004 he founded the United Food Fighters Organization. The goal of he group is to bring as much interest to competitive eating as there is for other types of sports. There are many chapters of this organization around the world.

There has been a lot of opposition to the organization in Japan. There have been instances in the past where children have died while trying to emulate their favorites in the speed-eating competition world.

While Japan is known for many strange competitive backings, there are many that still shy away from supporting any type of competition that could cause any serious damage to a competitor. Even though many of their competitions are dangerous, Japan is known for taking extra measure to protect competitors in any competition.

At this point, Kobayashi is only able to open his mouth enough to place his finger inside. With treatment he should be able to open his mouth wider over the next few months. There is a good chance that he will never be able to compete in the sport that he loves anymore. There are many in the competitive eating world that are very upset about this realization.

Source:

AFP, Japan's all-star speed eater suffers professional injury, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070625/od_afp/lifestylejapanushealthfoodpeople_070625040111;_ylt=AjSJVeDxUhKqMwDWhgtOW63MWM0F