South Dakota Man Dies During Hot Dog Eating Contest

A Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in South Dakota turned tragic when one participant, a 47-year-old man, choked to death during the amateur competition. The Rapid City Journal reports Walter Eagle Tail was one of six contestants trying to eat as many hot dogs as possible during the annual contest when he began choking. Despite on-site attempts to administer CPR, Eagle Tail was pronounced dead at Custer Regional Hospital. According to the RCJ, the Custer Chamber of Commerce, who sponsored the event, "cancelled a planned pie-eating contest for the next day," and have not commented if the competitive eating events will be on the calendar for next year.

Sadly, it's not the first fatal accident to occur during a competitive eating contest. In 2012, a man died after winning a bug-eating contest in Miami; the previous year, a man in Ukraine died after winning a dumpling-eating event.

· Man Dies in Custer Hot Dog Eating Contest [RCJ]
· All Competitive Eating Coverage on Eater [-E-]