Takeru Kobayashi of Japan competes to win Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, Coney Island, New York
PHILADELPHIA (Courier-Post) - They call Takeru Kobayashi "the Babe Ruth of competitive eating."
On Friday morning, Philadelphia saw why.
In his first Wing Bowl, the diminutive Japanese eater dethroned and dominated three-time defending champ Jon "Super" Squibb of Winslow, devouring a record 337 wings in 30 minutes to win the $20,000 grand prize.
"He's a great athlete," Squibb says of Kobayashi. "Three hundred wings by the second round is (amazing). Today he was better than me, today he beat me. But now I know what I have to work to next year.
"It's a lot of wings but if he can do it, why can't I?"
Squibb, 26, beat his previous mark and record of 255 wings by feasting on 271 wings for second overall. Though defeated, Squibb was the top local eater and thus able to drive away in a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro.
"It's a great car, so it's not the worst day for me but I would have liked to come out on top," he says.
Squibb has piled up his driveway since his 2009 Wing Bowl debut, winning a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman, 2010 Ford F-150 and 2011 Dodge Ram.
"I'm going to keep it," Squibb says. "I don't know what I'm going to do with it but I'm going to keep it."
Like every year, Squibb plans to chase his 271-wing breakfast with an afternoon pizza.
"I can't break tradition," he says.
For the second straight year, five-time champ Bill "El Wingador" Simmons left with only an upset stomach and questions of whether the 50-year-old Woodbury Heights resident will retire. Simmons, who received the biggest applause at the Wells Fargo Center's sellout morning event, finished third overall with 251 wings.
Stephanie "Chilita" Torres, Wing Bowl's first female competitor in five years since Sonja "The Black Widow" Thomas, finished fourth with 238 wings, a record for women.
"I told myself I was going to make it to the top five, which is what I did," says Torres, a 26-year-old professional eater. "And I told myself I was going to break Sonja's record, so I'm happy."
Voorhees resident Dave "U.S. Male" Goldstein finished fifth with a personal-best 226.
Torres, who was persuaded to enter Wing Bowl by a couple local friends, will return to her New Mexico without any physical prize but with plenty of memories.
"I go home with the experience, and knowing what to expect next year," Torres says. "I'm pretty sure I'll try next year."