Joey Chestnut is a real hot dog

An American with a fondness for frankfurters has been practising his

guzzling techniques by downing 40 hot dogs at a time for a popular eating competition.

Joey Chestnut hoped to

consume more than four dozen frankfurters in 12 minutes at the annual

Coney Island hot-dog eating

competition held earlier this week. He went jaw-to-jaw with the world's leading hot-dogger, five-time defending champion Tekeru Kobayashi of Japan.

Chestnut said: "If I'm not eating hot dogs, I'm not eating much." His US record stands at 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes which earned him a mention in May this year in Sports Illustrated.

The Californian resident hopes to reclaim the mustard yellow winners belt from around Kobayashi's waist.

Speaking before the competition, Rich Shea, one of the founders of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, said: "People believe Joey can win this contest. How much can a human being eat? I think we'll find out."

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