Takeru Kobayashi Retires from Competitive Eating; Won 6 Hot Dog Eating Contests

Six-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion Takeru Kobayashi has announced his retirement from competitive eating, per TMZ.

Kobayashi reportedly revealed the news of the end of his legendary career in the Netflix documentary Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut, saying it's time for him to "focus on his well-being and repair the damage he's done to his body over the past two decades."

Kobayashi explained the massive toll his career took on him by revealing he "lost his appetite and ability to even smell food," per TMZ. He found those issues to be a wake-up call for him to change his lifestyle.

"I want to live a healthy and long life, so I've decided to quit competitive eating contests," he said.

Kobayashi rose to fame in 2001 when he won his first Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. He went on to win the contest in each of the next five years, breaking his own record three times in that span.

However, Kobayashi met his match when Joey Chestnut burst onto the scene and dethroned him in 2007. The two of them would go on to have a storied rivalry for years to come, though Kobayashi failed to get the better of Chestnut, who has gone on to become a 16-time champion in the Fourth of July event.

In 2010, Kobayashi didn't participate in the hot dog eating contest amid a contract dispute with Major League Eating. He famously attended the event as a spectator and jumped on stage at the conclusion of the contest, resulting in his arrest.

While he continued his competitive eating career after the incident, Kobayashi never returned to Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for a rematch against Chestnut.

Kobayashi holds multiple records across numerous eating contests and remains an icon in popular culture.