As of 2002, the current world record holder for consecutive hotdogs eaten. A newcomer in Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest, held annually in Brooklyn NY, Kobayashi shocked onlookers as he not only broke the world record, he doubled it.
The previous record, set by Kazutoyo Arai of Japan, had been 25 hotdogs in 5 minutes and 13 seconds. In 2001 Arai ingested 31 hotdogs, but was no match for Kobayashi, who ate 50 in 12 minutes, buns and all. As the event drew to a close, competitors stopped eating to stare in awe at Kobayshi.
The 5'7", 113lbs native of Japan uses the "Solomon Technique" which involves breaking the hotdogs in two and stuffing both halves in your mouth at once. For dessert, Kobayashi ate two more hotdogs while mingling with members of the media. Through a translator, he boasted that he could easily have eaten 20 more hotdogs.
In the 2002 contest, Kobayashi retained his title, beating out the closest runner-up by more than 20 hotdogs. He even beat his own record, by eating 50 and a half hotdogs.
"Feels good," he said.