A future Olympics event?

Ray Meduna, gustatory athlete from Mount Vernon, WA, works out in a local supermarket.

They are known as gustatory athletes, gurgitators and, in France, epicuriators. They are athletes in one of the oldest and most fundamental of disciplines - competitive eating. It is a demanding sport to say the least and requires enormous commitment.

If there's an organization likely to petition the IOC for inclusion of competitive eating in future Olympics, it is the IFOCE:

The International Federation of Competitive Eating supervises and regulates eating contests in their various forms throughout the world. The IFOCE helps to ensure that the sport remains safe, while also seeking to achieve objectives consistent with the public interest -- namely, creating an environment in which fans may enjoy the display of competitive eating skill.

Eric Booker, left, and Richard LeFevre, right, are two potentially, huge eating stars of the future Olympics event.

425 pound champion Eric Booker, 36, has consumed a record total including, 15 burritos in 8 minutes; 2 lbs chocolate candy Bars, 6 minutes; 4 pounds of corned beef hash, 1 minute 58 seconds; 49 glazed donuts, 8 minutes; 50 traditional Hamentaschen Purim cookies, 6 minutes; 21 baseball-sized matzoh balls, 5 minutes 25 seconds; and 9.5 one-pound bowls of peas in 12 minutes.

135 pound champion Richard LeFevre, 58, holds a record for eating 1 1/2 gallons of Stagg Chili in 10 minutes; 12 corn dogs, 10 minutes; 6 pounds of Spam from the can in 12 minutes; and 25 hot dogs and buns in one sitting.

Read more incredible statistics of these and other gustatory athletes on their IFOCE Bib Sheets.

[Photos courtesy of IFOCE web site.]

[Thanks to Steve of CUNY.]