Heavyweight eaters collided at Go!Go!Curry’s First Annual Eating Contest on Saturday. The event pitted five competitive eaters against Japan’s favorite comfort food—curry rice—to determine just how many 104-degree bowls of spicy carbs could be consumed in 15 long minutes. As sporting events went, it took inspiration from professional wrestling with outsize personas and more than a little zaniness. The 300-pound Dale “Mouth of the South” Boone arrived in a raccoon cap and shook a cowbell; the 285-pound “Gentleman” Joe Menchetti wore a black top hat and a dainty red bow tie. In this punishing contest of gastric capacity, Menchetti edged out Boone by a single tepid bowl—his 26th. Fifty-nine hot dogs it ain’t, but an accomplishment nonetheless.—Michael Anstendig