Charles Hardy ( – August 3, 2023), known as Hungry Charles Hardy, was an American

competitive eater Competitive eating, or speed eating, is an activity in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions c ...

from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. Hardy was a long-standing member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. He retired from the sport in 2005 to become the IFOCE's commissioner. During the latter half of 2004, Hungry Charles displayed dominance in eating, placing second and third in major events throughout the USA. Hardy secured victory for six consecutive years in the Civil Service qualifier for the hot dog circuit and he maintains records in sushi, shrimp, and cabbage. Hardy was a Nathan's American Hot Dog Eating Champion (personal best is 23.523 Nathan's hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes). He won the 2001 Matzo Ball Eating Contest by consuming 15.5 Matzo balls in 5 minutes and 25 seconds. He competed in Japan twice, eating 15 feet of sushi in one sitting. After disappointing performances in

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

, skeptics murmured that the elasticity was gone from the stomach of the one-time American Hot Dog Eating Champion. With his victory at the Hibernation Cup in Alaska, however, and his record-breaking efforts with shrimp (4.5 pounds in 12 minutes) and boiled cabbage (six and a half pounds in nine minutes), Hardy put an end to rumors. In March 2006, he made a special appearance on Beautifulbrian Corner. Hardy supplanted Ed Krachie in the late 1990s as America's most recognized competitive eater and was a member of the Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT) at

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

. Charles Hardy died from cancer on August 3, 2023, at the age of 57.

World records

*Cabbage: 6 pounds, 9 ounces (2.97 kg) giant cabbage in 9 minutes *Shrimp: 4 pounds, 9 ounces (2.06 kg) spot shrimp in 12 minutes

References

External links

International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Charles 1960s births Year of birth uncertain 2023 deaths American competitive eaters Deaths from cancer in New York (state) People from Brooklyn American prison officers