The Black Widow of eating contests has gobbled up nearly 181 chicken wings in 12 minutes, devouring the national championship record.
Sonya Thomas ate 2.2 kg of chicken wings to win the festival’s contest on Sunday, besting world eating marvel Joey Chestnut. Thomas calls herself the Black Widow because she often beats male competitors in eating contests.
The previous record was her 174 wings in 2005.
Chestnut came in second after eating 169 chicken wings. That’s 2.06 kg.
Thomas says she’s “so happy” because Chestnut had been favoured to win. She says her technique of using her hands more than her mouth helped her.
The 43-year-old from Virginia says she was still hungry after the contest — so she ate 20 hot wings. The National Buffalo Wing Festival says that chicken wings originated in the city. —AP