Tuesday, May 16, 2006 | 8:44 a.m.
At a 2004 doughnut-eating contest in Los Angeles, Rich and Carlene LeFevre of Henderson, after finishing first and third, made a beeline to a nearby restaurant to order a huge brick of onion rings. "We didn't eat all of it," Carlene said. "We picked around it and gave the rest to another family so it would not go to waste. I told them we didn't touch the part we were giving them because we didn't want them to think we spit on it or something."
Each year, in Texas, the couple compete in a 72-ounce steak-eating contest. "We always order triple-decker ice cream cones after we finish," Rich LeFevre said. "The steaks just don't fill us up."
Selected world gastronomic records as compiled from the International Federation of Competitive Eating Web site:
Asparagus (deep fried in tempura): 5 3/4 pounds in 10 minutes on April 24, 2004, by Sonya Thomas.
Beef tongue (whole, pickled): 3 pounds, 3 ounces in 12 minutes by Dominic Cardo.
Birthday cake: 5 pounds in 11 minutes, 26 seconds on May 10, 2005, by Rich LeFevre.
Bratwurst: 35 in 10 minutes on Aug. 6, 2005, by Sonya Thomas.
Buffet: 5 1/2 pounds of buffet food in 12 minutes by Crazy Legs Conti.
Candy bars: 2 pounds in six minutes by Eric Booker.
Cheesecake: 11 pounds in nine minutes on Sept. 26, 2004, by Sonya Thomas.
Chicken wings: 161 (5.09 pounds) in 12 minutes on Sept. 5, 2004, by Sonya Thomas.
Chili: 1 1/2 gallons in 10 minutes by Rich LeFevre.
Corned beef and cabbage: 5 pounds in 10 minutes on March 16, 2004, by Cookie Jarvis.
Cow brains: 57 (17.7 pounds) in 15 minutes by Takeru Kobayashi.
Doughnuts (glazed): 49 in eight minutes by Eric Booker.
Eggs (hard boiled): 65 in six minutes, 40 seconds by Sonya Thomas.
Grilled cheese sandwiches: 32 1/2 in 10 minutes on Oct. 22, 2005, by Joey Chestnut.
Hamburgers (Krystals square burgers): 69 in eight minutes on Nov. 13, 2004, by Takeru Kobayashi.
Hot dogs (Nathan's Famous brand with buns): 53 1/2 in 12 minutes on July 4, 2004, by Takeru Kobayashi.
Ice cream (vanilla): 1 gallon, 9 ounces in 12 minutes by Cookie Jarvis.
Maine lobster (from the shell): 44 (11.3 pounds of meat) in 12 minutes on Aug. 13, 2005, by Sonya Thomas.
Meatballs: 10 pounds, 3 ounces in 12 minutes on Dec. 3, 2005, by Sonya Thomas.
Pancakes (with bacon): 3 1/2 pounds in 12 minutes by Crazy Legs Conti.
Pizza: 7 1/2 extra-large slices in 15 minutes on July 9, 2005, by Rich LeFevre.
Not everyone has the stomach for eating contests.
It can be downright gross watching someone scarf down a 10-pound hamburger or shove two dozen hot dogs down their gullet in less than 12 minutes. And you don't need a medical degree to know that long-term gorging can lead to diabetes, digestive problems and other stomach ailments.
But Ron Koch of Las Vegas (and no relation to this reporter) and Rich and Carlene LeFevre of Henderson participate in such events with the fervor of gamblers who lost $10,000 at the craps table and are determined to make it all back at the buffet table.
Carlene LeFevre, the seventh-ranked eater on the pro tour, says of competitive eating: "It is like when you go by a car wreck on the road and you just have to slow down or stop to look at it."
Pro tour? Oh yes, there is a gluttony circuit of 100-plus events a year, including the appropriately named Alka-Seltzer U.S. Open.
And a sanctioning body called the International Federation of Competitive Eating manages the tour and sets rules that include disqualification if you regurgitate during a contest.
"You have to know what your limit is," says Koch, 59, ranked 10th on the circuit. Last year he went beyond that limit during a 10-pound-hamburger-eating contest at the Plaza.
"I did not want to lose; so I forced myself to continue. I finished fourth, and for the next three days walked around with a pain in my stomach that felt like I had appendicitis. I'll never do that again."
Rich LeFevre and Koch will be among the favorites Thursday at the Las Vegas Regional for the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, at New York-New York. Carlene LeFevre will sit this one out.
The winner qualifies for the Nathan's world championship July 4 at Coney Island, N.Y. - "the Masters of competitive eating," eating federation President Richard Shea says.
So, what does all of this say about a society that makes contests out of pigging out?
"In America, competition is pushed to pathological extremes," UNLV sociology professor Simon Gottschalk said. "Rewarding someone for eating more than another sends a message that quantity is more important than quality."
"The danger to society is that we glorify the people like the pro basketball star and the beautiful actress. Why don't we instead give prizes to the social worker who saves the most children or the doctor who saves the most lives - those who do what is socially redeeming?"
And in Las Vegas, where excess is celebrated and opulence revered, Gottschalk says, eating contests fit "perfectly with the spirit of Las Vegas, which advertises itself with superlatives - the loosest slots, biggest gift shops, largest buffets - the spectacle of nothing."
But, supporters insist, eating contests offer social redemption.
While there are contests for many "disciplines" - that's competitive-eating jargon for "foods" - the federation does not sponsor events in which contestants are required to eat bugs (dead or alive) or animal entrails, as seen on some TV shows, Shea said.
"Those shows are doing that to gross people out," he said. "We are not trying to gross people out."
Shea said the federation prohibits anyone under age 18 from competing, and emergency medical technicians are hired to stand by to treat those who - for lack of a better term - bust a gut. There has never been a death at a sanctioned event or demonstration, federation Chairman George Shea, Richard Shea's brother, said.
Dr. Frank Nemec, a local gastroenterologist for 22 years, says the biggest risks from such competitions are choking (the food going down the trachea instead of the esophagus, a tear in the stomach wall and - and if the participant regularly vomits after competing - a tear in the esophagus that could lead to bleeding and perhaps death.
"While this is risky behavior, it is definitely not as great a risk as boxing," Nemec said. "And the participants who stay lean do not have the risks of diabetes and cardiovascular problems that the obese participants could have."
Richard Shea said his organization does not take itself too seriously, noting it has participated in a televised event called "The Glutton Bowl" and has sanctioned contests for eating nonmenu food items such as butter and mayonnaise.
Rich "The Locust" LeFevre, 61, the circuit's fourth-ranked eater, says it is all about fun: "While I take the competitions seriously and want to win, you can't take this sport too seriously."
That aspect and the fact he holds seven world records, including pizza, corn dogs and Spam, has earned LeFevre guest spots on several TV shows, including the "Donnie and Marie Talk Show" in 2000 , where he ate two 72-ounce steaks in one hour.
But a recent news release by the federation on the upcoming Las Vegas weenie tourney indicates organizers take their exhibitions way too seriously - calling competitive eating "the fastest growing sport in the country."
Despite such pretentiousness, the tour has given pro eaters a shot at making a decent wage - about $35,000 to $75,000 a year from contest prize pools, competitive eating officials say.
The image of competitive eating has changed in the last few years as smaller, seemingly fit, trim and healthy competitors are regularly beating the obese, future-stroke candidates.
Nowhere was that more evident than Dec. 3 at Carmine's Restaurant at the Tropicana, when Sonya Thomas, who weighs less than 105 pounds, set a world meatball-eating record by consuming 10 pounds, 3 ounces in 12 minutes.
Thomas, by the way, is nicknamed "The Black Widow," because she devours her male competitors. She is America's top-ranked eater (male or female) and holds 18 world records, including chicken wings, eggs and lobster.
Rich and Carlene LeFevre, Koch and world hot-dog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi of Japan all weigh less than 160 pounds.
"When the Japanese came onto the scene a few years ago, the 150-pounders started to blow away the 350-pound guys," Shea said. "One theory is called 'the belt of fat.' That is that excess fat tissue inhibits stomach expansion."
Some competitors, including Kobyashi and the LeFevres, also exercise a lot and, when not competing, slowly eat healthy foods.
"Rich walks 30,000 steps a day, and I do 20,000," Carlene LeFevre said.
"We also do leg lifts and other exercises because the more muscle you can hang on your body makes it a more efficient calorie-burner."
Koch doesn't train: "I'm a natural who just comes in hungry."
The LeFevres and Koch all have favorite foods, of course. Carlene LeFevre likes prime rib, husband Rich loves steak and pasta and Koch relishes ribs.
Is there anything these champions won't eat?
There seems to be somewhat of a theme. Carlene LeFevre won't touch snails, and Rich LeFevre doesn't like oysters.
And Koch? He is allergic to all shellfish.
Brooklyn native Koch credits his gastronomic success to his grandmother and mother: "My grandmother fed me when I got home from school, and after that I went home to eat the dinner Mom cooked. They taught me to clean my plate."
Now that's good advice for anyone who has the stomach to become a competitive eater.
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