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Keith McCord Reporting At the Utah State Fair this weekend some of the world's top competitive eaters will be eating and eating and eating!
This Sunday at the Utah State Fair, it's the 2006 World Sausage Eating Championship. The contestants will be eating Colosimo sausages made right here in Utah. First prize is 15-hundred dollars.
You're probably familiar with the annual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest that takes place every July 4th in New York. Well, the organization that puts on that event will do Utah's Sausage-Eating contest this weekend.
Yes, there is a real organization: "The International Federation of Competitive Eating." They have an official-looking logo, complete with lions eating a hot dog, holding crossed catsup and mustard containers. There's an ice cream cone too.
There are about 3,000 so-called "gurgitators" on the competitive eating circuit, traveling from place to place, eating just about anything that's put in front of them. Two of the world's best are coming to Utah.
Joey Chestnut is ranked Number two in the world. His records include:
--6 and a quarter pounds of asparagus in 10-minutes;
--47 Grilled Cheese sandwiches in one sitting;
--And 8.4 pounds of pork ribs in 12-minutes.
Ranking number eight in the world is Richard "The Locust" Lefevre. The 132 pound retired CPA has put away:
--5 pounds of birthday cake;
--A gallon and a half of chili;
--And 6 pounds of canned SPAM.
We can only assume that Sunday's sausage contest at the Utah State Fair will resemble this action. By the way, sausage is a new eating category this year so the winner will be the first champion, and the number of sausages he or she eats will be the official record.
The sausage contest is for pro's only, but there will be an amateur "grilled cheese sandwich contest" for anyone in Utah over the age of 18. If you can eat more than 47 sandwiches, you'll win 100-thousand dollars.
