David O'Karma

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David "Coondog" O'Karma is a competitive eating champion and writer from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He has held world records in doughnut, hard-boiled egg and corn on the cob consumption. He was a former member of the IFOCE, but started an eaters organization called the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters, (AICE).

He started competitive eating at age 15 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, at Church's Chicken on Portage Trail. He ate 13 sweet potato pies in one minute to become the WCUE Sweet Potato Pie-eating Champion. From there he entered the Houlihan and Big Chuck Show's Pizza Fight of the Century and became the only person to defeat the legendary Mariano "Mushmouth" Pachetti. However, the event was not sanctioned by the IFOCE, and therefore his feat remains disputed.

On July 4, 1974, Coondog set his first world record by eating 45 hard-boiled eggs in 8 minutes and 10 seconds, becoming the WCUE Egg-Sucking Champion. Later that summer, at the Cuyahoga Falls Kid's Carnival, Coondog broke another Guinness world record by consuming 25 Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts in 15 minutes. After this feat he retired.

In 2001, Coondog O'Karma came out of a self-imposed retirement of 27 years to win the Nathan's Famous Middletown, New York regional hotdog eating contest, qualifying him for the Nathan's Famous Coney Island 4th of July Hotdog Eating Contest in Coney Island where he finished 7th with 17 hotdogs.

Coondog's career as a competitive eater led him to appearances on Fox's Glutton Bowl, The Sally Jesse Raphael Show, Steve Harvey's Bigtime, Travel Channel's Battle of the Buffets, Discovery Channel's Gutbusters, and the Food Network's Buffalo Wing Festival.

He's been written about and mentioned in many magazines and newspapers around the world, including: Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, Atlantic Monthly, and GQ Magazine.

In 2004 Coondog challenged an Akron Beacon Journal columnist, David Giffels, to an eating contest. To up the ante Coondog offered to eat a large pizza while allowing Giffels to eat a small pizza. Giffels went on to defeat Coondog in what many see as the climax of Giffels' fame. To add insult to injury Giffels vowed to never write another word about Coondog in the Akron Beacon Journal ever again.

In April 2004 Coondog revealed his tender side when he published a book of poetry under the title "wit and whimsy of a white trash jesus." The book is available at CafePress and is described by the publishing house, Coondog Publishing, as the "perfect potty pal."

In June 2005, the Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards presents Coondog a first place in Open Essay for his Cleveland Magazine article, Dog Eats Dog.

On Thanksgiving Day 2005, Akron Beacon Journal columnist, David Giffels reneges on his oath to never write another word about Coondog and dedicates his column to Coondog O'Karma.

In April 2006 Jason Fagone's book on competitive eating, Horsemen of the Esophagus, with Coondog as "protaganist" is released by Crown Publishers. ISBN-13:978-0-307-23738-5

In June 2006, the Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards, picks Coondog's "Coondog O'Karma Goes to Japan" article for Honorable Mention in open essay.

In August 2006 Coondog teamed up with Buffalo, New York-based festival promoter, Drew Cerza, and held The National Hamburger Festival in Akron, Ohio.

The festival was held to honor local food innovators, Frank and Charles Menches, who claimed to have invented the hamburger in 1885. The festival included a hamburger eating contest, which O'Karma won, by eating 4 and 1/2 double decker hamburgers in 8 minutes.