U.S. National Buffalo Wing Eating Championship

JOEY DEFEATS SONYA, SET NEW WORLD RECORD IN A BUFFALO BATTLE FOR THE AGES!

Joey "Jaws" Chestnut's incredible 2012 continued with a world-record setting victory in the US National Buffalo Wing Eating Championship. Chestnut defeated Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas—his fiercest rival in this discipline—by more than a pound of chicken wings in a display of poise and power. His final total of 7.61 pounds of Buffalo wings in 12 minutes bested his 2007 effort of 7.5. Thomas, the defending champion, had edged Chestnut to silver in 2011 and 2010. Victory for Thomas in 2012 would have extended her Buffalo win streak to six. It was not to be.

Chestnut lead from the start, moving with a speed that belied his victory in the 2012 Buffalo Buffet Bowl only the day before. Thomas, who silvered in the Buffet Bowl, found her rhythm but could not match Chestnut's firepower. "The Lovely" Juliet Lee rounded out the podium placements with an impressive ingestion of 5.36 pounds.

Crowd favorite and poet laureate of the 716, Eric "Badlands" Booker came fifth, while "Buffalo" Jim Reeves' quest for victory on home turf must continue for another 12 months at least.

FULL RESULTS!. 1 Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, 7.61 pounds 2 Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, 6.36 pounds
3 "The Lovely" Juliet Lee, 5.36 pounds 4 "Buffalo" Jim Reeves, 4.13 pounds 5 "Big" Brian Subich, 3.98 pounds
6 Eric "Badlands" Booker, 3.91 pounds 7 Yasir "The Doggy Bag" Salem, 3.87 pounds 8 Ben "The Hungry Wolf" Taylor, 3.8 pounds 9 Matt Bonnano (Amateur contest winner from day before), 3.57 pounds 10 Mike Landrich of Fredonia, NY, 3.53 pounds 11 Ben Do, 3.47 pounds 12 William "Wild Bill" Myers, 2.6 pounds 13 "Beautiful" Brian Seiken, 1.95 pounds 14 Dan Fisher, 1.35 pounds 15 Aaron Mentkowski, 1.3 pounds

The 2012 National Buffalo Wing Festival took place place on Labor Day Weekend (Sept 1-2) at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, NY. Part of the proceeds from the festival go to benefit Western New York charities, raising more than $225,000 over the festival's history.

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*All applicants must be 18 years of age or older and fully acknowledge and understand the inherent dangers and risks associated with participating in an eating contest. The applicant further acknowledges and understands that the MLE/IFOCE coordinates with event sponsor(s) to select and approve eligible participants, and that the MLE/IFOCE shall decide, at its sole discretion, whether an applicant is eligible to participate in any eating event, and/or related activities. The MLE/IFOCE may revoke an applicant's eligibility to participate in the eating contest, or related activities, at any time, for any reason, at its sole discretion. The MLE/IFOCE and the event sponsors reserve the right, at any time, to change any and all details concerning the event, including, e.g., time, duration, location and prize structure.