Irish oyster champ claims to have defeated Sonya Thomas in 20098
update Sept 3 Sonya Thomas did compete in the 2008 contest, which took place on September 6, 2008 and was the runner up to Colin Shirlow. V1NNY69 has a video of the results announcement.
update Sept 3 #2 Scotsman.com has an article about the 2008 contest.
Food Belfast has an article about Colin Shirlow, who received a Guinness record for oyster eating (233 in 3 minutes) in 2005 and claims to have defeated Sonya Thomas at the Hillsborough Oyster Festival in Ireland last year:
Last year saw the ominously named ‘Black Widow’ (pictured, left) being flown over especially for the competition from the US.
Sonya Thomas got the nickname because of her ability to regularly defeat men four to five times her size in competitive eating events. The 43-year-old holds records in some 25 competitive eating contests and set her sights on Shirlow’s crown.
“Her record sits at 350 oysters in 10 minutes [actually 46 dozen, 532] but with this record it says it has to be three minutes. The Guinness Book of Records specifically say you have three minutes. We paid for her to come across and on the Thursday night we were like two boxers.
Sonya Thomas could not have competed in the Hillsborough Oyster Festival, which takes place during Labor Day weekend, because she was at the Buffalo Wing Festival in 2009. Shirlow is most likely confusing Sonya Thomas with Linda Li, who competed in last year’s contest after winning a qualifier at the Ceili Cottage in Toronto.
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Anonymous said
September 2, 2010 @ 9:46 pm
He’s Irish, he was probably drunk!
NReda said
September 2, 2010 @ 11:16 pm
This is weirdly interesting…. I wonder if big stars get so mistakenly identified in other sports.
Anonymous said
September 3, 2010 @ 1:30 am
Except you’re wrong, OJ. She was there. Go to the contest’s website, click on “Oyster Eating,” and watch the slideshow. The third photograph in the slideshow very clearly shows Sonya Thomas hanging out with them.
John Ferris said
September 3, 2010 @ 4:06 am
I’m the journalist who wrote the story and I have checked back through my notes and Colin did say last year in reference to it, but I have checked out some other sources and it was actually 2008 that Sonya was at the Hillsborough Oyster Festival, not 2009.
ojrifkin said (Registered July 27, 2005)
September 3, 2010 @ 8:20 am
Thank you for the update. I have found a video of the 2008 results announcement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vO8DOMqL_g
anonymous said
September 3, 2010 @ 9:38 am
Claims to have beaten Sonya Confused Sonya with someone else who cares who cares who cares. You give her way too much attention on this site. Why post the article altogether Move on
gastroboy said
September 3, 2010 @ 11:59 am
In short contests (3 minutes or less), as most (if not all) guinness world records are, a “lot” of people can catch up and win who we know as top eaters, including the famous Takeru Kobayashi. Expect them to lose against (i.e.) peter dowdeswell as well as many other famous guinness world record holders.