By Michael Ha
Contributing writer
Korean-American Sonya Thomas, standing at 163-centimeters tall and weighing 45 kilograms, may be small in stature but is a big celebrity thanks to her unparalleled appetite.
``I think competitive-eating is really fun. I love to compete,'' she said.
Thomas, whose Korean name is Lee Sun-kyung, landed in the American media spotlight this month when she came in first place at the U.S. chicken-wing eating contest in Buffalo, N.Y., on Sept. 1.
She ate 173 chicken wings in 12 minutes and set a new record for that contest. She was the only woman in the competition.
As improbable as it may seem, Thomas is one of the biggest stars in the unique world of competitive eating. She is a top-ranked participant in the United States speed-eating circuit, routinely out-consuming male competitors at least twice her size.
Her gustatory prowess has gotten her plenty of media coverage in the United States, including stories that appeared in The Sports Illustrated, Time and even The Wall Street Journal.
So how did she choose this unusual pastime, and what do her parents in Korea think about all this?
``I like trying out new exciting things and that's how this whole thing got started,'' she said with a laugh. She talked about her experience in an interview following a Jalapeno-peppers eating challenge in Chicago this past Sunday. She came in second in that competition. How much did she eat?
In all, she swallowed 141 hot peppers in six-and-a-half minutes, and she felt just fine afterward.
``I love to eat. I've always had a big appetite, as a child and growing up in Korea,'' she said. But even she marvels at how successful she has been in contests where she is usually the only female contestant. These eating contests are held around the United States throughout the year and attract hundreds of competitive eaters. Top players have names like Eric ``Badlands'' Booker and Paul ``Totally Appalling'' Lawrence.
Food at these contests range from baked beans and burritos to reindeer sausage and pork ribs.
During weekdays, though, Thomas holds an ordinary job working as a restaurant manager in Alexandria, Va. Thomas, who is single, spends more than 12 hours a day working and competes in eating contests only once or twice a month.
She immigrated to the United States a decade ago when she was 29 years old. Her parents and siblings live in Kunsan.
Thomas said she first entered a competition on a whim in 2003. ``I saw an eating contest on TV and it looked really fun. I wanted to give it a shot, just for fun,'' she said. ``And I saw Japanese speed-eater Takeru Kobayashi and was totally amazed. I wanted to see how much I could eat. I like to compete.''
She came in fifth place on her very first try, eating 25 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the Nathan's Fourth of July hot-dog eating contest in New York. Since then she has set 30 new eating records.
Try this for a size _ her records include consuming 46 pies in 10 minutes, 65 hard-boiled eggs in 7 minutes, 60 ham sandwiches in 8 minutes and 176 dumplings in 12 minutes. She has taken top place in more than 40 contests so far.
Still, she recalled how worried her parents in Korea seemed when she first told them about entering eating contests. ``My parents were worried sick. They told me, 'your stomach will burst!''' she said.
But she seems to be doing fine. She said one reason that her stomach can hold so much food is because of her unusual eating habit.
Instead of three meals and snacks, she usually eats just one big meal a day, an early dinner during her work break. In those meals, she would have chicken sandwiches, French fries and lots of diet drinks, which helps her stomach to get accustomed to large volumes of food.
When asked if she gets to eat much Korean food, Thomas said she often goes to Korean restaurants, including an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, in the growing Korean-American community in Virginia. ``I usually go for 'bulgogi,' spicy-tofu stew and spicy-seafood stew. I also love chewing on Korean dried squid, which I think helps my chewing strength.''
She said she had actually lost some weight since becoming a competitive eater and that her cholesterol levels are normal. She plans to continue competing as long as she can stay healthy.
Aside from being a volume eater, another major advantage she says she has over other competitors is her blazing speed and eating technique. ``I am really good when it comes to food where you have to move fast and use hands, like eating chicken wings or oysters or lobsters,'' she mused.
For Thomas, competing in these eating contests has also become more than just fun and getting attention. Her goal is owning her own franchise restaurant. So far Thomas has won some $100,000 in prize money in past four years. These winnings will certainly help her reach her goal of becoming a restaurant owner one day.