MORROW, Ga. – What started innocently enough on April 12, 2015 has grown into a tremendous professional career as former Clayton State basketball player Gideon Oji (Imane-in-Koji, Nigeria) has earned the right to compete in the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July for a fourth consecutive year.
 
Held at the corner of Surf and Stillwell on Coney Island, N.Y., it is the premier event of its kind, featuring the top competition in the world. It will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 12 p.m. with the competition slated to begin at approximately 12:30 p.m.
 
Having already earned over $42,000 in prize winnings in that time, Oji is the No. 6 ranked eater in the Major League Eating rankings and earned the sixth most in 2017 with $18,700, that according to EatFeats. So far in 2018 he is fifth in that category with winnings of $7,700, trailing only Joey Chestnut ($10,250), Geoffrey Esper ($8,550), Carmen Cincotti ($8,000) and Molly Schuyler ($8,000).
 
Unless you are a former champion, each year competitors have to qualify for what is essentially professional eating's Holy Grail by winning one of a number of qualifiers held all around the country. This year Oji waited until the June 23 Washington, D.C. qualifier – and almost waited too long.
 
The competition is 10 minutes long with the goal of downing as many hotdogs and buns in that time as possible. Only the winner advances. Oji didn't hit the table until there was just 4:20 left on the clock – and wolfed down 21 HDB's (hotdogs and buns) to beat the nearest competitors by six.
 
One of the world's top eaters, the 6-9 Oji has been billed as the tallest professional eater and has used that long frame to full effect. Over the course of his career he has notched 42 top three finishes, including 10 first place outings. While four of those have been Nathan's qualifiers, the other six have landed him top dollar.
 
Five of those events included $2,000 per for 18.5 sandwiches at the 2018 World Championship Canteen Sandwich Eating Contest (Ottumwa, Iowa/June 2, 2018), 34.5 sausages at the Snowbird Bratwurst Eating Championship (Snowbird, Utah/August 19, 2017), 22.5 bowls (16 oz) at the Kale Yeah! The World's Healthiest Eating Championship (Hamburg, N.Y./August 13, 2017) 4.06 pounds at Ribfest Chicago's RIBMANIA Eating Championship (Chicago, Ill./June 9, 2017) and 25.5 bowls at the 2017 Kale Championships. He also earned $1,750 with 5.25 bowls (32 oz.) at the World Green Chile Stew Eating Championships (Grants, N.M.).
 
He has also pushed the best in the business, finishing second to 2015 Nathan's champion Matt Stonie's record 87 aebleskiver's on May 27, 2017, notching 73 himself. Following his initial appearance just months into his career in 2015, he was more experienced and used to the big stage in 2016, finishing an impressive fourth at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. That day he finished with an African-born record of 38 hotdogs and buns for $1,500 in prize winnings.
 
His well established career has seen him compete in 67 different events in 24 different states as well as the District of Columbia. Those have included Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, Mississippi, Maryland, West Virginia, Illinois, Virginia, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Indiana, Minnesota, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania and Iowa. He has also competed in Toronto, Canada and in major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas.
 
Additionally, he now holds a pair of MLE world records, including consuming 25.5 bowls (16 oz.) of chopped kale on July 9, 2016 and 1.3125 gallons of green chile stew on October 8, 2016. He is also the only known former NCAA student-athlete to compete professionally at this level.
 
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.
 
An imposing presence, Oji has 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.
 
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 multi-event qualifying circuit conducted throughout the United States year round. Each year, the greatest competitive eaters on earth gather on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn, N.Y., 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
2018 Nathan's Qualifiers
History and Hall of Fame (Since 1972)
2017 Final Results
ESPN Coverage of 2017 Event
 
GIDEON OJI LINKS
Clayton State Men's Basketball Bio
Official EatFeats Results
Major League Eating Bio
2017 Nathan's Release
2016 Nathan's Release
2015 Nathan's Release
 
MAJOR LEAGUE EATING LINKS
Major League Eating Homepage
MLE World Rankings