4th Of July News: Kobayashi out at Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Kobayashi, the long reigning champ of the Nathan's hot dog eating contest, may have to skip the contest this year. Gothamist has the news:

First, his mother passed away in March, causing the Tsunami to take a sabbatical from training. Now, news comes from Kobayashi's blog (bad translation) that he's got a bout of jaw arthritis! Apparently Kobayashi can only open his mouth big enough to fit a finger and the injury happened just a week into training.

Gothamist adds that this gives hope to American contender Joey Chestnut:

In a qualifier for this year's Nathan's event, Chestnut ate a whopping 59 1/2 hot dogs with buns, shattering Kobayashi's record of 53 3/4 from last July 4th. If Kobayashi is still injured when July 4th rolls around, you can be sure that Chestnut will bring the Mustard Belt back to the United States.

Read the whole story at Gothamist.