Yasir Salem

Yasir Salem
Born Yasir Salem
December 30, 1981
Houston, Texas
Alma mater University of Texas at Austin (BA, Economics). Rutgers University (MBA)
Occupation Marketing Director, Competitive Eater
Known for Tour de Donut champion, Donut Derby, competitive eating

Yasir Salem (born December 30, 1981) is an American triathlete, marathon enthusiast, cyclist, and competitive eater. He is currently ranked number 12 in Major League Eating’s list of competitive eaters.[1]

Salem is the Tour de Donut and the Donut Derby champion. He is also the former National Sweet Corn Eating champion and world record-holder (47 ears of corn in 12 minutes),[2] and has competed in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest five times.

Biography

Salem was born on December 30, 1981, in Houston, Texas. He is of Egyptian, Turkish and Armenian ancestry. He attended Clear Lake High School in Houston, Texas, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as an MBA at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Salem’s first Major League Eating win was at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier in Concord, North Carolina in 2012.[3] His first Major League Eating title came in September 2013, when he ate 31.75 cannoli at Little Italy’s Feast of San Gennaro Cannoli Eating Championship. Salem’s first Tour de Donut championship was the Tour de Donut Ohio in 2014.

Tour de Donut and Donut Derby

Tour de Donut

Salem has competed in several Tour de Donut road races across America. Each city’s annual bicycle race has cyclists race for 30 miles to earn the lowest times by eating donuts at two pit stops along the track. For each donut consumed, riders’ times are reduced by five minutes. Rather than award the first cyclist to cross the finish line, the champion with the lowest "donut-adjusted time" is named the winner of the race. Salem eats 12 donuts at a time during the races.[4]

Cities and years competed:

Donut Derby

Salem competed in Pennsylvania’s Donut Derby bicycle race in both 2015 and 2016, achieving his best "donut style" bicycle race by eating 55 donuts over 36 miles for a donut-adjusted time of -10 minutes.[5]

Competitive eating

Salem’s entry into the competitive eating scene started as something of a joke. "I was watching the Nathan’s contest in 2008, and I thought, ‘Wow, all I have to do is eat a bunch of hot dogs and I can be on ESPN?’" he told Mental Floss.[6] He trains by eating a 4 to 6 pounds salad everyday for lunch followed by a gallon of water.[7] He credits enlisting the help of a hypnotherapist as a key turning point in his success as a competitive eater.[8]

Triathlete, runner, and cyclist

Salem ran and completed his first marathon in the 2010 New York City Marathon. By June 2017, he had completed 20.[4]

He competed in his first New York City Triathlon in 2012, having only learned to swim that same year. He then competed in his first Ironman in 2013, and would complete four total by 2015.[9]

Salem owns 3 bicycles, and is known to use a Quintana Roo PR6 Ultegra Di2 with Reynolds Strike wheels for triathlons.[10]

He has stated his intent to run one marathon each month in 2017,[11] and is currently training for the 2018 Race Across the West and the 2019 Race Across America ultra-endurance bicycle races, which are 900 and 3,000 miles, respectively.[12]

Championships and world records held

2013

2014

2015

2016

Personal life

Salem resides in New York City with his wife, whom he also runs marathons with, and their two cats.

He currently serves as a Marketing Director at Hearst for both Esquire and Popular Mechanics.

Salem’s hobbies include growing and eating his own supply of organic fruits, vegetables, microgreens, and sprouts in his NYC home.[20]

See also

List of competitive eaters

References

  1. ↑ "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  2. 1 2 "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  3. ↑ "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  4. 1 2 "Marathon Runner Hungry for a New Challenge Turns to Competitive Eating". TWC News. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  5. 1 2 "One of the world's top competitive eaters reveals what it's like". INSIDER. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  6. ↑ "17 Secrets of a Competitive Eating Champion". 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  7. ↑ Training for Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, retrieved 2017-07-04
  8. ↑ "Competitive Eaters Gear Up for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York". The Daily Meal. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  9. ↑ Sheehan, Jennifer. "It's a race — to eat the most doughnuts". themorningcall.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  10. ↑ "Who am I?". Yasir Salem. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  11. ↑ "Yasir Salem can crush pounds of donuts while cycling for miles. Here's how he does it.". Men's Fitness. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  12. ↑ "The competitive eater’s fitness plan: How to eat and train like donut-eating champion Yasir Salem". Men's Fitness. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  13. ↑ "Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating". www.majorleagueeating.com. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  14. ↑ Salem, Yasir (2014-06-28). "I won Donut Dash 5K! w/new record 'donut adjust time' 3min15sec & record 22 donuts. Jaimie(F champ) & Tyler(M 3rd)pic.twitter.com/LWgXaCHRjN". @yasirsalem. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  15. 1 2 "Race Results | 2017 Utah Tour de Donut". utahtourdedonut.org. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  16. ↑ Walker, Dale. "Home of The Tour de Donut". www.tourdedonut.org. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  17. ↑ "17th annual South Florida Sweet Corn Fiesta on tap for Sunday". palmbeachpost. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  18. ↑ "Tour de Donut 2016 Results". RacesOnline. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  19. ↑ Yasir Salem (2017-01-07), 31 donuts eaten during 24 mile Tour De Donut bike race, retrieved 2017-07-04
  20. ↑ "Who am I?". Yasir Salem. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
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