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”

The final competitive eating activity for Janus was serving as a commentator on Netflix’ “Unfinished Beef: Chestnut vs. Kobayashi” in September 2024.

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