Elite Eater from Englewood Eats Eight Hot Dogs in Three Minutes - Sets New Contest Record
Forty-three year old
Philip Soderborg from Englewood was just one of ten competitors who came to chow down for charity and a last chance to qualify for Steve's Snappin' Dogs Inaugural Hot Dog Eating Contest at the July 13th qualifier.
Soderborg stunned the capacity crowd easily eating eight hot dogs in the three minute time frame to take the top spot and setting a new contest record previously held at seven hot dogs by
Donavon Busta of Centennial.
"I've never competed in an eating contest before," says Soderborg as he went on to elaborate on how learned to eat quickly growing up in a large family. "You had to eat quickly or go hungry," he said.
Second place was a much different story as
Mike McAvoy of Westminster and
David Ruskjer of Littleton each tied with seven and a half dogs as piece forcing a 30-second eat-off to break the tie.
McAvoy downed two dogs to Ruskjer's one earning him the remaining spot on the group of elite eight eaters who will chow down at the finals to be hosted on July 27, 2008 at Steve's Snappin' Dogs in Denver.
Two other contest records were set on the July 13th qualifier including the first international competitor
Tuukka Laitinen of
Jakobstad, Finland. Billed as the "
Teemu Selanne of Salami," the 33-year old Laitinen proudly wore a Finland Olympic hockey jersey during the contest and while he kept the contest close, he ultimately lost out to the top two qualifiers.
One of the biggest surprises was 23-year old
Lana Nicolarsen of Denver as she downed four and a half hot dogs in the three-minute time frame to set the new record for female contestants previously set at two and three-quarters and held by 38-year old
Keriba Neveau of Denver.
In fact, had Nicolarsen participated at a previous qualifier, that amount would have been enough for her to qualify for the finals but on a day when the eight dog record was set.
Of the dozens of competitors - both men and women, Nicolarsen is among the top ten. Honorable mention goes out to 24-year-old
Catherine Boyd for taking the second spot among female competitors eating a total of three and a half hot dogs during the qualifier.
The final chow down will take place at 1:00 p.m., on Sunday, July 27th at Steve's Snappin' Dogs located at 3525 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver. The top two contestants from each of the four qualifiers will form the group known as the "Elite Ate" who will have eight minutes to eat as many hot dogs as they can. Grand prize includes a $300 gift card to Sam's Club, a trophy and crowned "Big Weiner" of the contest. Second place includes a trophy and a $100 gift card to Café Star and third place receives a $50 gift certificate to Mezcal.
The event is aimed to gain funding and awareness for Project Angel Heart and the Colorado Aids Fund. The entire $25 entry fee and a portion of all hot dog sales will go directly to the charities. The final chow down is free and open to all spectators who want to witness the action in person. Raffles and other prizes will be available. For more information, visit Steve's website at
www.stevessnappindogs.com