Tim Janus, a competitive eating champion who competed in “The Amazing Race,” has passed away at age 49.
News that Janus — who was known as “Eater X” on the competitive eating circuit — had passed was confirmed by TMZ, which noted that he died on September 16 following a cancer diagnosis.
‘Team Chomp’ on ‘The Amazing Race’
Janus competed on the 30th season of “The Amazing Race,” partnered with fellow competitive eater Joey Chestnut as “Team Chomp.”
However, the two quickly found out that racing around the globe was far different from eating dozens of hot dogs.
The duo was eliminated in the eighth leg of the competition, largely due to Chestnut’s struggles with running.
Eater X
GettyIn the world of competitive eating, Janus was considered one of the best.
As Eater X, he worked his way up the ranks in various competitions, most famously at the annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island.
At one point, Janus was ranked as the No. 2 competitive eater in the world, second only to Chestnut.
Among his various accomplishment in competitive eating were: eating 141 pieces of sushi in six minutes at a 2008 San Franciso competition; consuming 42 cupcakes in eight minutes at the Isle Waterloo World Cupcake Eating Championship in 2011; swallowing 71 tamales in 12 minutes in 2007; eating four pounds of tiramisu in six minutes in 2005; gulping down 26 cannoli in six minutes at New York City’s Feast of San Gennaro in 2006; and eating nearly 11 burritos in 12 minutes at the World Burrito Eating Championship in 2007.
He also held the world record for eating ramen noodles when he consumed 10-and-a-half pounds in less than eight minutes.
A $100K Winner on ‘Millionaire’
In addition to “The Amazing Race,” Janus parlayed his fame as a competitive eater into spots on other television shows.
Those include appearances on TLC‘s “Cake Boss,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and “The Eric Andre Show.”
He also competed in the syndicated daytime version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” where he emerged as a $100,000 winner.
A ‘Food Fighter’
In a 2011 interview with Food Republic, Janus was asked whether her would best describe himself as a competitive eater or a gurgitator.
“Competitive eater, it explains things better,” he replied. “Food Fighter is another good one.”
Discussing his proudest achievements in competitive eating, he said, “I was pretty proud of tamales, I ate 71, but burritos was most exciting because it went into overtime. You could see how hard it was on each of us, but I toughed it out.”
When asked if there was anything he wouldn’t eat in a competition, he couldn’t think of a single thing he wouldn’t swallow.
“I’d eat a roll of pennies if I thought I could set a world record, taste doesn’t matter,” he declared. “I’d like to eat everything in the world at least once. I’d eat alien if we could find it. If we could raise dinosaurs, I’d sign up to eat those.”
