Non Fatal Competitive Eating Health Incidents

A list of some incidents at eating contests and challenges that did not result in fatalities follows. Philly.com, The New York Post, CTPost and Eater.com all have articles about the dangers of competitive eating

2017 Former Austalian soccer star Brendan Favola stopped breathing after attempting an on-radio hot sauce challenge. Paramedics were able to treat his condition.
2016 The Journal of Emergency Medicine has an account of a injury produced by a ghost pepper eating contest that resulted in a 1 inch esophagus tear and a 23 day hospital stay. (via SMH)
2016 Rugby player Sam Burgess of the South Sydney Rabbitohs successfully applied the Heimlich maneuver after an employee of Decosti Seafood started choking in a fish eye eating contest held at the Sydney Fish Markets
2014 Brian “Dud Light” Dudzinski was hospitalized for brain swelling after a water training session went bad. Fortunately no significant permanent damage appears to have occured. He has continued to do water training, recently posting a 2 gallon chugging video.

2013 Brad Read, a pitcher for the Portsmouth (NH) Mavericks, needed surgery to remove a piece of a hot dog after participating in an eating contest.
2012 Samaljit (Sunny) Aulakh of Surrey, BC suffered permanent brain damage after choking in a gulab jamun eating contest. He remained hospitalized in a comatose state as of November 2013. (I have not been able to find information about his current status.)
2012 London chef Arif Ali was hospitalized after collapsing while attempting a hot wing challenge.
2011 Mike Solano was suffered a mini-stroke and was technically dead for 4 minutes after choking in a crab cake eating contest in Maryland.
2010 Dale Boone was hospitalized after attempting a spicy hot dog challenge in Georgia
2008 Conservative blogger Russ has an account about being hospitalized for high blood sugar after competing in the eating contest at the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Des Moines
2006 A competitor at the Las Vegas Nathan’s qualifier fainted and needed to be removed by stretcher.

Comments (22)

22 Comments »

  1. anonymous said

    April 13, 2017 @ 12:09 pm

    An unnamed rather successful retired competitive eater once referred to Dudlight as a frat boy. I think if you dared him to jump train tracks to platform he would probably try it just for the thrill aspect

  2. anonymous said

    April 13, 2017 @ 3:22 pm

    Dale Boone also had a choking incident requiring the Heimlich in the early 2000’s. This was detailed in either _Horsemen of the Esophagus_ or I believe it was _Eat This Book_.

  3. anonymous said

    April 13, 2017 @ 3:23 pm

    Didn’t LA Best also have a parasite from eating that goat a few years ago in Chicago? Wasn’t it detailed in his YouTube videos?

  4. anonymous said

    April 13, 2017 @ 3:26 pm

    And there are lots of times individual eaters have choked, but did not require medical intervention.

  5. anonymous said

    April 13, 2017 @ 4:06 pm

    why isn’t every seiken nathan’s qualifier listed, he chokes every time he competes

  6. anonymous said

    April 13, 2017 @ 6:44 pm

    Choking is the least of some of La Beast near fatalities. He nearly severed his toe sliding on his moms kitchen floor laced with butter

  7. anonymous said

    April 13, 2017 @ 7:44 pm

    12:09: “An unnamed rather successful retired competitive eater once referred to Dudlight as a frat boy.”

    And would this eater be Brian Seiken??

  8. anonymous said

    April 14, 2017 @ 2:21 am

    No

  9. anonymous said

    April 14, 2017 @ 11:24 am

    Look this dudlight is one peculiar duck. I remember when Janus was going back and forth deciding whether to compete in the Nathans qualifier a few yrs ago in queens or give it to Conti. When Conti saw Dudlight he backed out and Janus decided to go in . Dudlight was mumbling to himself “Make up your mind Tim” “Tim Janus ” Tim Janus Tim Janus” Very scary and very weird to say the least

  10. Seikens Gay Thoughts said

    April 14, 2017 @ 2:11 pm

    Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,Dudlight, Dudlight, Dudlight,

  11. Goldstein gay thoughts said

    April 14, 2017 @ 3:39 pm

    Seiken Seiken Seiken Seiken Seiken Seiken
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    Seiken, Seiken, Seiken, Seiken, Seiken Seiken

  12. anonymous said

    April 14, 2017 @ 11:45 pm

    Brian Dudzinski is one hell of a standup guy. He is very shy and not interactively social. Nothing wrong with that. He is one of many who are forced to rely on their good looks and physique or alcohol to do the talking for them in order to meet women. In Seiken case it’s just the opposite

  13. anonymous said

    April 15, 2017 @ 9:37 am

    I saw Brian D and Maria Edible lock eyes for a split second at Subway cheese stake contest in 2011. Not even a smile or a hello between the both of them

  14. dudlight fantasy said

    April 16, 2017 @ 7:33 pm

    Wow what a nut and notice how the morons on the YT comments think this video is awesome. When the man chokes to death will you still find it awesome?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwTrS3yAUkQ&feature=youtu.be

  15. anonymous said

    April 16, 2017 @ 9:15 pm

    The only thing i can think of is that dudlight is hanging with LA Beast . Bad influence very bad

  16. anonymous said

    April 16, 2017 @ 9:21 pm

    Some of these eating establishments should ban suicide hot wing challenge, If you remember a chef of all people almost died competing in one of those events 4yrs ago and for what? A t shirt and name on the wall ? Better yet how about a pic of ambulance taking you away on stretcher with writing next to photo “i almost died attempting a suicide wing challenge

  17. Anonymous said

    April 17, 2017 @ 1:24 am

    @7:33
    I clicked on the link and had to exit. What is wrong with that guy?

  18. Anonymous said

    April 19, 2017 @ 7:21 pm

    Ray the Bison injured his throat in 2004 prior to the Winchels donut contest and had surgury

  19. Melvin said

    April 20, 2017 @ 1:24 am

    From what I remember Ray did a hiemlic on a chair and the reversal did throat damage A minor surgury was performed and from what i understand he healed up normal. One of the nicest guys i ever met

  20. anonymous said

    April 21, 2017 @ 3:49 pm

    Not competitive eating related, but I thought some people might be interested:

    http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/04/21/hospital-allows-patient-to-eat-herself-to-death-and-other-tales-from-new-california-report/

    Hospital allows patient to eat herself to death

    “Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, Bakersfield

    Even though the recovering brain-surgery patient was known to suffer from a food-and-swallowing disorder that caused her to shove food into her mouth at a dangerously fast clip, staffers failed to get her the soft-food meals ordered by her doctors. “Continues to eat without chewing well and tends to choke,” a physical therapist wrote in a report. “She continues to shovel food into [her] mouth quickly and without chewing and swallowing at regular intervals and continues to choke.”

    In late March of 2016, the patient stuffed so much food into her mouth that she went into cardiac arrest, causing her heart to stop beating for 13 minutes. Doctors tried to save her, but they had trouble dislodging everything she’d crammed into her mouth. The report said the food pieces were “just too big to be sucked out” and a doctor had to use a pair of forceps to remove the food matter so they could insert an intubation tube. She was eventually pronounced brain dead.

    The Penalty: $75,000”

  21. anonymous said

    July 29, 2017 @ 5:33 am

    Does anyone agree that after watching the video this screwball reminds you of a serial killer?. I have met him once or twice and he comes off as somewhat weird and socially awkward
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFQuwWDMGf8

  22. anonymous said

    July 29, 2017 @ 10:22 am

    You would think that he is a ladies man but he refuses to talk about hot women or fucking them or anything related to sex He says the only hot woman in his life is his wife. No fun and boring if you ask me

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