A new sport becoming increasingly popular around the world requires both competitors and spectators to have a strong stomach to take part.
Competitive eating has graduated from fairground hot dog eating contests to a slick worldwide circuit of events that attract big sponsors and pay handsomely to winners.
Two Australians have benefited from that sponsorship dollar, and were flown to Bangkok to take part in the CP Biggest Eater regional grand final on Saturday.
Brad Stokes and Chiau Lin Lau, both from Melbourne, were competing in the amateur event at the competition after winning the regional title in their home city last year.
The aim of the event, which pitted amateurs from Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia against each other, was for competitors to eat as many prawn wontons — a product of sponsor CP Foods — in an eight minute time limit.
The male and female champions would each take home a prize of $3000.
Stokes and Lau missed out on a top three placing in Bangkok, with Ng Chin Sheng of Singapore taking the men's division, eating 161 wontons in the allotted time, and Helen Tan, also of the Asian city-state, downing 125 to claim victory in the women's.
While those numbers may seem extraordinary to the uninitiated, they pale in comparison to those achieved by the athletes here for the main event — the sport's professional eaters.
Current world champ Joey Chestnut, who held the world record of 380 wontons in eight minutes, blitzed the field of two other men and two women, as he chomped his way to a new world record of 390 wontons in the same time.
Chestnut was keen for revenge after world No.3 Tim Janus out-ate him in Melbourne, and the 28-year-old from California knew he had it in the bag pretty early in the game.
"Revenge is sweet, I came back and I dominated," he said. "A new record and now it’s time to party in Bangkok."
"About two minutes in I knew i was going to win, but I didn't know i was going to break the record until probably about minute seven."
The event, which attracted thousands of spectators, was held outside an exclusive shopping mall in the Thai capital, with tens of thousands of dollars going into the construction of the elaborate set, and the appearance of some of Southeast Asia's biggest music acts playing a supporting role.
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