10 cases where eating competitions ended in death (8 photos + 2 videos)

The first pie eating contest took place in Toronto in 1878. The winner, Albert Piddington, won a beautifully bound book. Speed ​​eating competitions are big business these days, and competitors are treated like professional athletes. But amateurs can also participate in the competition. Enthusiastic and probably hungry adventurers in pursuit of fame and money. More than once such competitions led to fatal consequences.





10. Madeline "Mady" Lee Nikpon



Tufts University student Madeline Lee Nicpon choked during a charity hot dog eating contest in Somerville, New York. The girl was given first aid and taken to the hospital. However, 20-year-old Nikpon died a few hours later.

Madeline studied at the Faculty of Biopsychology and played lacrosse; she wanted to connect her life with medicine.

9. Dana Hutchins





Dana Hutchins, 41, competed in a taco-eating contest during halftime of a baseball game in Fresno, California. The man choked and collapsed to the ground, and doctors were unable to revive him.

Hutchins' family filed a lawsuit against the event's organizers, Fresno Sports and Events, which owns the Grizzlies, alleging they were negligent in failing to warn participants about the risks and dangers. As the relatives assured, the deceased may not have known about the need to train in order to ensure his physical readiness for the competition.

8. Freddy Jayadi



A few years ago, a competition was held in Indonesia to quickly eat KFC chicken wings, with a prize of 5 billion rupiah for the winner. Freddy Jayadi desperately tried to win, but the third wing stuck in his throat. The contestant collapsed and later died at a local hospital.

Organizers canceled the competition and released a statement assuring the public that they "fully support the Jayadi family and are cooperating with authorities."

The head of the criminal police, Taufik Iksan, said that “the organizers did not provide medical personnel.”

7. Subhash Ladov

To win 2000 rupees from a friend, Subhash Ladov had to swallow 50 boiled eggs. When a resident of India put the 42nd egg in his mouth, he lost consciousness. The man died a few hours after hospitalization.

It is worth noting that in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman's character swallows 50 eggs in an hour and wins a bet. Perhaps this story inspired Subhash to undertake a deadly experiment.

6. Caitlin Nelson



A fun pancake-eating contest ended in tragedy, Fairfield police Lt. Bob Calamara said. When 20-year-old student Caitlin Nelson began to choke, paramedics and police arrived to help. Nelson was rushed to a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where her condition was declared "critical but stable." The patient was transferred to Columbia University Medical Center, where she died three days later.

5. Travis Maloof

 

Travis Maloof's last meal consisted of donuts. A contestant at VooDoo Doughnuts had to eat a 500-gram glazed donut in 80 seconds (half a dozen donuts in less than two minutes). Paramedics tried to save the 42-year-old man, but he died at the scene.

4. 60-year-old woman



In 2020, the traditional competition was held at the Beach House Hotel in Queensland, Australia. Participants had to quickly eat lamingtons - cube-shaped sponge cakes covered with chocolate and coconut flakes. According to local news agencies, the 60-year-old woman choked and suffered convulsions. It was not possible to save the victim.

3. Adam Deeley



Despite studying graphic design during the day and working at a club at night, Adam Deeley found time in February 2008 to take part in a cupcake-eating competition. During the competition, the 34-year-old Briton decided to prank his friends and stuffed 5 cupcakes into his mouth, after which he choked and collapsed on the floor, where he began to have convulsions. Ambulance crews arrived and took Deeley to Singelton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m.

2. Mario Oscar Melo



Boxer Mario Oscar Melo took part in a croissant-eating competition in the Argentine city of Pinamar. The 65-year-old champion ate his third croissant and began to choke in front of a bewildered crowd. Participants in the event tried to help the man, but the baked goods got stuck in his respiratory tract.



Wanting to win a python, Edward Archbold ate 60 grams of mealworms, 35 large larvae and a couple of dozen cockroaches. The 32-year-old Florida resident completed the task, but immediately after the competition he felt unwell and lost consciousness. The winner was hospitalized and died on the same day.

According to the medical examiner's report, Archbold "died from asphyxia due to suffocation and aspiration of gastric contents into the respiratory tract."