The 'japanese dude' who eats hot dogs suffers severe jaw injury

A Japanese man who set a world record by wolfing down 53 hot dogs in 12 minutes has suffered a severe jaw injury due to his rigorous training, making his next title uncertain.

Takeru 'Tsunami' said he can only open his mouth to make a gap the size of a fingertip after being diagnosed with jaw arthritis. In an entry on his blog entitled Occupational Hazard, Kobayashi said: "My jaw refused to fight any more." The injury occurred only a week after the slender 29-year-old started training to win his sixth straight title at the annual July 4 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating contest on New York's Coney Island. "I was continuing my training and bearing with the pain but finally I destroyed my jaw."