When most people think of competitive eating, they either think of the reigning Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog eating champ, Takeru Kobayashi or of behemoth men with gargantuan bellies. I think of my hero, Sonya Thomas, aka “The Black Widow”.
Sonya is a thirty seven year old woman from South Korea who immigrated to the states in 1997. She currently resides in Alexandria, VA. She decided to enter the competitive eating world while watching the 2002 Nathan’s contest on television. She quickly rose to the top of the International Federation of Competitive Eaters ranks and was named Rookie of the year in 2003. Her subsequent “gurgitation” feats are many and amazing, but the fact that Sonya is five feet five inches tall and only weighs a hundred pounds makes these records astonishing. Here is a list of her current records from the International Federation of Competitive Eating website: The numbered records are Sonya’s favorite top ten.
- Armour Vienna Sausage: 8.31 pounds Armour Vienna Sausage /Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte / 10 Minutes/ May 28, 2005
- Asparagus: 5.75 pounds Tempura Deep Fried Aspargus Spears/ Stockton Asparagus Fest / 10 minutes/ Apr. 24, 2004
- #6 Baked Beans, Long Course: 8.4 Pounds Baked Beans/ 84 Lumber / 2 minutes 47 seconds/ Aug. 7, 2004
- Brats: 35 Johnsonville Brats / Brat Days / 10 Minutes/ Aug. 6, 2005
- #3 Cheesecake: 11 pounds Downtown Atlantic Cheesecake / 9 minutes/ Sept. 26, 2004
- #10 Chicken Nuggets: 80 Chicken Nuggets / 5 Minutes
- Chicken Wings: 167 chicken wings / 32 minutes This is the contest that made her famous, double overtime
- #5 Chicken Wings, National Buffalo Wing Festival: 161 chicken wings, 5.09 lbs / 12 minutes/ Sept. 5, 2004
- Crab Cakes: 40 Crab Cakes/ Midway Slots / 12 Minutes/ Aug. 21, 2005
- #2 Eggs: 65 Hard Boiled Eggs / 6 minutes, 40 seconds
- Fruitcake: 4 pounds, 14 1/4 ounces Wegmans Fruitcake / 10 minutes/ Dec. 30, 2003
- Hamburger: Big Daddy Burger: 9 pound cheeseburger/ Plaza Hotel Casino / 27 minutes, 0 seconds/ Jan. 21, 2006
- Hamburgers: 7 Burgers (3/4 pound) "Thickburgers" / 10 minutes
- #9 Jambalaya: 9 Pounds Crawfish Jambalaya/ LuLu's Mardi Gras / 10 Minutes/ Feb. 24, 2004
- #4 Maine Lobster/ Kennebunk: 44 Maine Lobsters (11.3 Pounds of meat) from the shell / 12 minutes/ Aug. 13, 2005
- Meatballs: 10 pounds, 3 Ounces Meatballs/ Carmine's Restaurant at Tropicana Hotel Casino / 12 minutes/ Dec. 3, 2005
- #1 Oysters: 46 Dozen Acme Oysters/ Acme Oyster House / 10 Minutes/ Mar. 20, 2005
- Pork, Pulled: 23 pulled pork sandwiches / 10 minutes/ Oct. 3, 2003
- #8 Quesadilla: 31.5 4-inch Cheese Quesadilla / 5 minutes
- Sweet Potato Casserole: 8.62 pounds/ NC State Fair / 11 minutes/ Oct. 20, 2004
- #7 Tacos: 48 soft chicekn tacos/ Zocalo Restaurant / 11 minutes/ Sept. 29, 2004
- Toasted Ravioli: 4 pounds toasted ravioli by Charlie Gitto's at Harrah's St. Louis / 12 Minutes/ Nov. 20, 2004
- Turducken: 7 3/4 pounds Turducken.com Thanksgiving Dinner / 12 minutes/ Nov. 26, 2003
- Turkey: 4 pounds, 3 ounces roast turkey/ GoldenPalace.com at Artie's Deli / 12 minutes/ Nov. 23, 2005
The records speak for themselves. For more information you can visit Sonya’s website at :
www.sonyatheblackwidow.com
And the IFOCE website at:
www.ifoce.com