RIP Tim “Eater X” Janus
update Patch.com has an obituary.
The Major League Eating home page reports that Tim “Eater X” Janus passed away on September 16 following a long battle with cancer. He would have been 50 on December 31. Janus is the sole member of the Major League Eating Hall of Fame.
In a 2024 Time Magazine article, Tim Janus said he retired from competitive eating in 2016 due to concerns about his health, but said he was currently healthy.
Tim Janus, a 47-year old ex-competitive eater who Metz has studied in scientific research, quit the sport in 2016 after 11 years “out of an abundance of caution” partly based on Metz’s findings about the risks. He was also concerned about the harms of throwing up following competition, a practice that he describes as widespread. “When you’re eating that much food, you can’t digest it all,” he says. “Your stomach is too full to move things along. Throwing up after the contest is a necessary part of the sport.”
Janus tried to collaborate with other pro eaters to share and track their health to better understand the effects of competing, but he couldn’t rally their interest. He’s now a foreign service officer in Mexico City in good health. Most of his former competitors say they’re healthy, too, but he “didn’t want to continue and realize I made a mistake.”
Janus was one three protagonists (along with Takeru Kobayshi and Ian Hickman) in MTV’s 2006 documentary, “True Life: I’m a competitive eater”, which can be viewed online. He was also featured in Jason Fagone’s book, “Horsemen of the Esophagus” (Google Books sample)
The final competitive eating activity for Janus was serving as a commentator on Netflix’ “Unfinished Beef: Chestnut vs. Kobayashi” in September 2024.
Joey Chestnut defends Smoke’s Poutinerie title
| 1st | 21.25 | Joey “Jaws” Chestnut | |
| 2nd | 18.5 | Max Stanford | |
| 3rd | 15 | Darrien “Cheesecurd” Thomas | |
| 3rd | 15 | Nick Wehry | |
| 5th | 13.875 | Gideon Oji | |
| 6th | 13.75 | Miki Sudo | |
| 7th | 13.375 | Derek Hendrickson | |
| 8th | 13.25 | Radim Dvoracek | |
| 9th | 9.625 | Jacob Williams | |
| 10th | 9.5 | Eric “Badlands” Booker | |
| 11th | 8.5 | John “Step Daddy J” Jugovic | |
| 12th | 8 | Josh “The Goat” Krady | |
| 13th | 6 | Semora Kludy |
Nothing has yet to be posted about today’s poutine eating contest in Toronto other than an Instagram post from Albuquerque Steve reporting that Joey Chestnut has defended his title with a total of 21 pounds in 10 minutes.
September 26 MLE contest fields
Fields for the MLE contests on September 26:
- Williamsburg, VA pancakes: Joey Chestnut, Miki Sudo, Nick Wehry, Max Stanford, Gideon Oji, Jerome Burns, Josh Krady, Rene Rovtar, William Myers
- Lewisville, TX tamales: James Webb, Geoff Esper, Radim Dvoracek, Derek Hendrickson, Adrian Morgan, Sergio Reyes Raya, Jocelyn Young, Greg Wilson, Alex Perez, Nathan Biller, Elizabeth Salgado, Albert Bravo
- Springfield, IL Cozy Dogs: Pat Bertoletti, Darrien Thomas, Jerome Burns, Matthew Raible
George Shea’s 9/11 experience on NY1
On September 11, 2001, George Shea was riding in a car in south Manhattan when the first airliner crashed into the World Trade Center. He called into the local cable news channel NY1 and reported hearing multiple explosions and that an airplane tire fell near his vehicle. NY1’s full morning telecast is available on youtube, George Shea’s call begins’s at 21:30 (Tip: Rob Guy)
Segment transcript follows:
Read the rest of this entry »
2026 Trenton Pork Rolls eating contest
| 1st | 41.25 | James Webb | |
| 2nd | 41 | Nick Wehry | |
| 3rd | 30 | Darrien “Cheesecurd” Thomas | |
| 4th | 25.1 | Radim Dvoracek | |
| 5th | 19 | Josh “The Goat” Krady | |
| 6th | 16.75 | Peter “Dirty Pete” Ritter | |
| 7th | 10.5 | Larell Marie “The Real Deal” Mele | |
| 8th | 10 | William “Wild Bill” Myers | |
| 9th | 7 | Madison Brown | |
| 10th | 6 | Camille O’Brien | |
| 11th | 5 | William Cooper | |
| 11th | 5 | Rene Rovtar |
James Webb is doing a livestream of today’s pork roll eating contest in Trenton, NJ.
North Shore Beef’s Three Way Slider World Championship
updateOfficial results
| 1st | 46 | Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti | |
| 2nd | 43 | Geoffrey Esper | |
| 3rd | 40.5 | Max Stanford | |
| 4th | 26 | Jerome Burns | |
| 5th | 16.25 | Yasir Salem | |
| 6th | 15.5 | Semora Kludy | |
| 7th | 10 | Crazy Legs Conti | |
| 8th | 9.5 | Lauren Pace-Fraunfelter | |
| 9th | 6 | “DanBob” |
update The video went down, but Pat Bertoletti won the contest via Game On Fenway’s instagram stories
North Shore Beefs is doing an Instagram Live video of today’s Three Way Slider World Championship
“Hungry” Charles Hardy and rembering 9/11
On September 11, 2001, “Hungry” Charles Hardy, runner up in the 1998 and 1999 Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contests, was working as a corrections officer in New York City. The 2006 book, “Eat This Book” documents Hardy’s recovery efforts at the disaster site over the next several weeks. The carcinogenic chemicals at Ground Zero resulted in cancer which claimed Hardy’s life in 2023.
Read the rest of this entry »
First MLE top 50 of 2026
For the first time in over 8 months, the MLE top 50 has been updated. Scott “Scott Eats” Watkins is not ranked, so presumably he declined the MLE contract. updateHere is the full list with the previous ranking
Dropping out:
20 Mayoi Ebihara
33 Max Suzuki
36 Zosan Pacpac
38 Erik Denmark
39 Kelly Wong
40 Pablo Martinez
47 Joey Przybylowicz
48 Julie Goldberg
50 Michael Dietz