Competitive Eaters diagnosed with cancer
- Balinda Gould ate 42.5 chili dogs in four hours at the Rockford Corner Bar in 2005 to break a 23 year old record and claim a $500 prize. In 2011, she passed away from cancer at the age of 46. (As far as I know, the chili dog record was the only eating contest or challenge she attempted.)
- “Furious” Pete Czewinski Diagnosed with cancer in 2014, requiring the removal of a testicle. Unfortunately that did not stop the spread of the cancer, resulting in radiation therapy in 2015.
- Ed “Cookie” Jarvis Diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2010 He has had 11 tumors removed (some non-cancerous) according to a July 2012 Deadspin article.
- Curtis Sliwa the Guardian Angels founder and 1994 Nathan’s 3rd place finisher was diagnosed with prostrate cancer in 2011.
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest is being used to illustrate articles about the World Health Organization's new report that claims consumption of processed meats increases the chances of colon and stomach cancer.
A memorial for Stephanie Torres will be held tomorrow in Las Cruces, NM. The cause of her passing was fainting from low potassium levels. (via Stephanie Wu) update Stephanie Wu reports stories are being collected for a memorial urn. update Oct 4 Link for video streaming will start at 3 Pacific / 4 Mountain / 6 eastern (via Stephanie Wu).
"Furious" Pete Czewinski reports a decrease in his tumor markers from 11+ to 1. He will get a full health status report in November.
"Furious" Pete Czerwinski announces that he has finished the last radiation therapy in a series of 20 treatments. Let's hope he is declared cancer free in two months when he learns the outcome.
The Daily Mail has an article about Erik "The Electric" Lamkin and his recovery from an eating disorder. update The New York Post also has an article.
Some sad news from "Furious" Pete Czerwinski: in his latest video, he announces that cancer has spread to his lymph nodes and will undergo radiation therapy. Pete had a cancerous testicle removed last year, but unfortunately that did not get rid of 100% of the disease. Pete's vlog channel https://www.youtube.com/user/FuriousTalks/ will document his treatment.
NewsObserver.com has an article about the health issues Mort Hurst, billed as NC's original eating champ, has faced. He experienced a stroke after eating 38 soft-boiled eggs in 29 seconds in 1991 and continued to eat competitively for four more years.
USA Today has an article about competitive eating health risks with quotes from Matt Stonie and Pat Bertoletti, who says (without providing details) that he has experienced an injury while training.
Sunstar Scheduling has a request for a medic for the Hooters Wing Championship on Saturday.
Chronicle Live has an article claiming that eating challenges at northeast England restaurants are endangering diners' health.
DeadSpin has a post titled "What Happens If Someone Dies During The Hot Dog Eating Contest?" that assumes there would be a cancellation if there was a significant mid-contest health incident (Nathan's PR does not provide a definite answer). In the 2006 Las Vegas Nathan's qualifier, there was no interruption after an competitor passed out and was removed by stretcher. Joey Chestnut would go on to become the first American to eat 50 hot dogs at that event.
Craigslist has a request for an EMT to oversee a competitive eating event in Long Beach on June 27, most likely the Hooters wing qualifier.
Tailgate Fan has an interview with Crazy Legs Conti (conducted in March or earlier) in which h makes the claim an injury has never occurred at a MLE contest. (Conti was present at a 2004 jambalaya eating contest in Washington, DC where Dale Boone required the Heimlich maneuver. According to Eat This Book, Crazy Legs blocked a media camera while "The Mouth of the South" received medical attention.)
WKRN reports that Randy Schmitz of Orland Park, IL suffered a seizure after attempting the hot sauce challenge at Pepper Palace in Myrtle Beach, SC. He was hospitalized and subjected to a MRI which detected a cancerous brain tumor that was removed.
The Metro Times has an interview with Matt Holowicki, 8 time winner of the Hamtramck, MI paczki eating contest. He says he is retiring from that event after having been diagnosed with diabetes, but will continue to participate in other competitions.
The LA Times did a post in 2006 about "All You Can Eat", a competitive eating screenplay by Josh Heald, writer of Hot Tub Time Machine 2, (The project appears to have been tabled; it no longer appears on Heald's IMDB page). To research the script, Heald competed in the 2006 Nathan's Las Vegas qualifier where Joey Chestnut became the first American to hit 50 hot dogs. (The post claims that a competitor at that event fainted and needed to be removed by stretcher, which is the first I had heard about that incident.)
93.3 KFM reports that a 30 year old man died after competing in a doughnut (mandazi) eating contest in the Mubende district of Uganda. update 91.3 Capital FM has more on the fatality.update Feb 15 UGO News reports that the contest organizers are on the run and will be charged with murder if and when they are apprehended.
Erik "The Electric" is doing a Ask Me Anything session on reddit.com about starting competitive eating after his recovery from an eating disorder.
In My Fat Story on UK TLC, Katie Hopkins intentionally gained weight to attempt to prove that weight loss is mainly a matter of self-discipline. In her attempt to gain 42 pounds, she traveled to an unnamed restaurant in North Carolina to attempt its burger challenge (which appears to be the 40/20 challenge at BT's Burger Joint in Charlotte).
WCVB reports that Ryan Roche of Lehi, UT was hospitalized after he choking after winning an egg nog drinking contest held at his office.
The Telegraph reports that Keith Martin, formerly recognized as the "world's fattest man" died of pneumonia in London, England at the age of 44. Before receiving gastric surgery, he weighed 980 pounds and ate 20,000 calories a day.
"Furious" Pete Czerwinski announced that he has been officially declared cancer free today.
Stroud Life has a report on an investigation into the death of Gary Sims at an egg eating competition held at a pub in Berkeley, England in June. The former Royal Marine choked after attempting to insert three eggs into his mouth simultaneously. The blood test revealed he had a blood alcohol level above the maximum allowed for driving. (Daily Mail article) The eating / drinking fatalities lists (chronological order | by country) have been updated.
Tom Balmforth reports that a female victor of a vareniki (dumpling) eating contest in Lviv, Ukraine died on stage while receiving her prize. Tass.com has an English article about the fatality. update Nov 20 The Express gives the name of the deceased as 53 year old Lyana Koroleva.
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