The Marriage Of Gluttony And Sport

By Jeremy Caplan

At 100 pounds, the hottest rookie in competitive eating looks more like a model for the Atkins diet than someone who set a world record by devouring 157 chicken wings in just 32 min. But Sonya Thomas, 36, shown at right celebrating that record, wants to bolster her status as the world's speediest gobbler at several of the 70 contests the International Federation of Competitive Eating has scheduled for 2004. Thomas, who holds titles for downing tacos (43 in 11 min.) and eggs (65 in 7 min.), hopes to pad the $20,000 she's won this year. The rival stars below will have to chew fast to beat her. --By Jeremy Caplan

ACME OYSTERS: NEW ORLEANS Thomas trained hard and doubled local champ Boyd Bulot's record at a competition on Saturday. She slurped up 432 oysters in 10 min.

SPAMARAMA: AUSTIN, TX Rick "The Locust" LeFevre set a record this month, gobbling 6 lbs. of Spam in 12 min. His wife cheered him on in a Spam-hued outfit

CORNY DOG: DALLAS LeFevre, who specializes in beef and chili, eats all the faster as he fills up. He's shown here putting away 12 spicy corn dogs in 10 min.

NATHAN'S: N.Y.C. Thomas rival Takeru Kobayashi, who ate 44.5 hot dogs in 12 min. to win last July, once scarfed down 57 cow brains in 15 min.

HOOTER WINGS: N.Y.C. Cookie Jarvis, who once ate 91 dumplings in 8 min., beat Thomas in January by swallowing 134 wings in 12 min.