MORROW, Ga. – Former Clayton State men's basketball player Gideon Oji (Imane-in-Koji, Nigeria) has qualified for his second consecutive Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and will compete in the 100^th annual event in Coney Island, N.Y. on the Fourth of July against the top competition in the world.
 
In little more than his first full year, the 6-9 former center has taken the professional eating world by storm. After qualifying for last year's competition, which was just his third professional event ever, Oji downed 19 hotdogs and buns to finish tied for 13^th at the corner of Surf and Stillwell.
 
Since then he has risen to No. 10 in the Major League Eating world rankings and consumed a personal best 33 hotdogs and buns to win the Norfolk, Virginia qualifier and earn his spot in the main event.
 
That total is a record for an African born competitor and was the third most from the 10 qualifying events. He trails only Adrian Morgan, who won the Houston, Texas event with 39, and Geoffrey Esper's 34.75 at the Syracuse, N.Y. event. It also would have tied for fourth in last year's Main Event.
 
Far from limited to just hotdogs, Oji has grossed $8,400 in prize money while competing in a variety of events. These have included sweet corn, wings, sausages, pork rolls, chili, Moon Pies, pepperoni rolls, meat pies and Peeps. In addition to his two Nathan's qualifying victories (the other was last year in Charlotte, N.C.), he has finished second in four paying events.
 
Two of those where his highest grossing efforts. He earned $1,500 for downing 43.5 ears of sweet corn at the National Sweet Corn Eating Championships in West Palm Beach, Fla. on April 24 and a personal best $2,250 after consuming 20 rolls at the West Virginia Three Rivers Festival Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship on May 28.
 
Overall, he has competed in 21 different events in 13 different states as well as the District of Columbia. These have included Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, Mississippi, Maryland, West Virginia, Illinois and Virginia.
 
An imposing presence, Oji was the focus of a brief feature leading up to last year's event and he has also been featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd and Clayton State's Laker Connection, the institution's bi-annual alumni magazine. He was only the third current or former Laker to be featured in SI in the program's history.
 
This year's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will take place at 12:40 p.m. on July 4 and will again be carried worldwide by ESPN. In a change, however, the event will not air live on the main network but instead will run on tape delay at 3 p.m. Full live coverage will be available beginning at 12 p.m. on ESPN3.
 
ABOUT GIDEON OJI'S CLAYTON STATE CAREER
A two-year member of the Clayton State men's basketball program from 2013-15, Oji was a part of a rotation of four big men as a senior 2014-15. That season he saw action in 10 games and he scored four points, hauled in five rebounds and had a block and a steal in 23 minutes of action against Belmont Abbey on November 22.
 
Against Division I and Southeastern Conference member Mississippi State in his very next game he logged a career-high 25 minutes while hauling in five rebounds, two on the offensive glass, and notched a pair of blocks in keeping the Lakers within striking distance of the Bulldogs.
 
ABOUT THE NATHAN'S FAMOUS HOT DOG EATING CONTEST
The Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is the culmination of a 10-event qualifying circuit conducted throughout the United States during the months of March, April, May and June. Each year, the greatest competitive eaters on earth gather on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, to compete, as they have since 1916, according to the archives.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE EATING
Major League Eating is the world body that oversees all professional eating contests. The organization, which developed competitive eating and includes the sport's governing body, the International Federation of Competitive Eating, helps sponsors to develop, publicize and execute world-class eating events in all varieties of food disciplines.

MLE-sanctioned eating contests provide dramatic audience entertainment and offer an unparalleled platform for media exposure. The world's top competitive eating stars - such as Joey Chestnut, Sonya Thomas, Patrick Bertoletti, Eater X Tim and Bob Shoudt - are all Major League Eaters.

MLE conducts approximately 80 events annually, including the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Past event and broadcast sponsors include Procter & Gamble (Pepto-Bismol), Pizza Hut, Krystal Hamburgers, Heinz Ketchup, Old Navy, Netflix, Coca-Cola, 7-Eleven, ESPN, Jimmy John's, La Costena, Harrah's Entertainment, Isle of Capri Casinos, Cedar Fair Entertainment, Johnsonville Sausage and Roy Rogers.

MLE promotions generate more than a billion consumer impressions worldwide each year. The Nathan's Famous contest alone has generated more than 300 million consumer impressions on domestic television in the period of several weeks. Major League Eating has produced dozens of hours of original programming for SpikeTV, ESPN, Fox, and Bio. The ESPN broadcast of the Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest has generated a higher rating than any Major League Baseball telecast on July 4 in the United States.

THE NATHAN'S FAMOUS HOT DOG EATING CONTEST LINKS
About the Main Event
Qualifying Events
History and Hall of Fame (Since 1972)
2015 Final Results
ESPN Coverage of 2015 Event
 
GIDEON OJI LINKS
Clayton State Men's Basketball Bio
Official EatFeats Results
Major League Eating Bio
 
MAJOR LEAGUE EATING LINKS
Major League Eating Homepage
MLE World Rankings