Known as the Black Widow of eating contests, Sonya Thomas ate 181 chicken wings in 12 minutes, gobbling up the national championship record in Buffalo.
"I'm so happy!" Sonya Thomas declared, she had just finished 4.86 pounds of chicken wings to win the contest, beating Joey Chestnut at the ninth annual National Buffalo Wing Festival.
Buffalo, New York, is suppose to be the birthplace of the wings, typically fried and covered in tangy vinegar and hot sauce.
Chestnut, who just licked the rib eating competition in Sparks Nevada a few days ago, is America's No. 1 professional eater.
He was favored to win Sunday's competition. He came in second after eating 169 chicken wings, or 4.55 pounds.
This was the first time Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., and Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., faced off in a chicken wing eating contest. They went at it "neck and neck," said Drew Cerza, the founder of the festival.
"They pushed each other really hard," Cerza said. "Joey is so strong. He's got great jaw strength. But Sonya's so fast with the hand."
Thomas, who's 5 feet tall and weights 105 pounds, calls herself the Black Widow because she often defeats bigger male competitors - Chestnut is 6-foot-2 and weights 230 pounds - in eating contests. She set the previous wings record in 2005, when she ate 174 in 12 minutes.
She also holds eating records for oysters, hard-boiled eggs, cheesecake and jalapeno peppers.
The 43 year old Black Wdow said she owed the win to her fancy finger work.
"Sometimes if I try to chew too much I slow down," she said. "I used my hands more than the mouth."
Smothered in Buffalo sauce, she said she was still hungry afterward, calling the wings "an appetizer." About an hour later, she made a guest appearance in the Ridiculously Hot Buffalo Wing Eating Contest and ate 20 more.
"The hottest wings!" she said. "I had to drink a lot of water."
She's our kind of girl!
She's our kind of girl!
