Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi. (click for larger version)

September 18, 2008

Takeru Kobayashi is a veritable eating machine best known for his six-year reign as champ in the annual July Fourth Nathan’s Coney Island hot dog-eating contest. Revered as one of the greatest competitive eaters of all time, the slender 30-year-old Japanese native, a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, will be in Birmingham on September 20 to compete in the Alabama qualifying round for the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship. Five amateur local eaters will be selected to challenge Kobayashi and other pros as they attempt to move on to the finals in Chattanooga on September 28, where the top prize is $50,000. The Birmingham competition will be at Legion Field at 1:30 p.m. before the UAB vs. Alabama State football game. Registration for amateurs (at least 18 years of age) wishing to compete will be at 12:30 p.m. at the stadium’s Blazer Village.

Kobayashi is a three-time Krystal Square Off burger champ, with a personal record of 97 Krystal burgers consumed in eight minutes. Kobayashi also holds records for wolfing down bratwurst sausages, lobster rolls, rice, and cow brains, respectively. For more information on the Krystal Square Off go to www.krystalsquareoff.com/blog.