Word: kobayashi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...only battling an injured jaw and an insurgent young rival, but also the recent death of his mother. She died in March after being diagnosed with cancer in 2004. "If I won seven times in a row, I'd be there with [Lance] Armstrong," Kobayashi, 29, said through an interpreter, referring to the seven-time Tour de France winner. "I think that was what was keeping her alive. She had a will to see me." Yet his old exuberance was missing. The injury had prohibited him from eating a hot dog in more than two weeks, which clearly affected...
...Much the way Tiger Woods did with golf, Kobayashi revolutionized his sport - yes, he insists, competitive eating is a sport - with his strenuous training regimen. Yet the day before he needed to eat at least 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes to have a chance of winning the Super Bowl of eating, the Japanese star with a Hoover for a mouth couldn't open his jaw wide enough to accommodate...
...From the shoulders down, Kobayashi was ready to go. After he won his first Nathan's contest in 2001 at just 110 pounds, the 5 ft, 6 in. Kobayashi dedicated himself to developing his body, just as Woods chose to reconstruct his swing after winning the 1997 Masters by 12 strokes. In an effort to increase muscle control and endurance, Kobayashi began running an hour a day and lifting weights three times a week. He added 80 pounds of heft, benchpressed 400 pounds and won Nathan's year after year after year...
...However, while Kobayashi's torso was primed for dozens of hot dogs, his mouth wasn't. He injured his jaw while training in Japan last month, and visits to scores of doctors failed to produce a conclusive diagnosis. With time of the essence and Kobayashi barely able to open his jaw, he posted a plea on his blog for doctor referrals. As Kobayashi is a national hero in Japan, where competitive eating has been popular for years, his countrymen responded in droves with offers to help. Soon after his posting, Kobayashi had a wisdom tooth pulled and began treatment...
...interpreter's New York City hotel room Tuesday afternoon trying food on for size, Kobayashi could open his mouth wide enough to accommodate a hot dog by itself, but an attempt to push through a bun resembled a Mack truck trying to enter a home garage. Two visits to an acupuncturist in the city, painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills lessened the pain - but not the shame - of his current condition. "I'm very embarrassed as an athlete and as a competitive eater that I didn't take care of my body and that I'm at this point now," Kobayashi...