Profiles in Gurgitation: Part Two

Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas

Weight: 105 lbs

Height: 5’0”

Age: 48

Over the next few months, while waiting for Slider to be published, I’ll be paying tribute to the heroes of the sport.

There are three basic requirements for success in the challenging sport of Competitive Eating: Technique, Dexterity, Speed, and Capacity. You might think that Sonya Thomas, at 105 pounds and 5’0” tall, would not be competitive at a professional level. You would be wrong.

Sonya Thomas, who hails from Alexandria, Virginia, has been a top competitor for going on fifteen years. She's not nearly as big as Joey Chestnut or Matt Stonie, but she makes up for that with her speed, dexterity, and sheer heart. Her talents were highlighted by her 2012 performance at the Acme Oyster House Contest, which she won by eating 47 dozen raw oysters in 8 minutes.

Forty-seven dozen oysters amounts to less than two pounds net weight—well within the capacity of most oyster lovers. But just try to slurp down 564 of them in 8 minutes. That takes some fast hands!

Thomas may lack the sheer capacity of Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest champion Joey Chestnut, but she did capture the record in the women’s division by eating 40 hotdogs in 10 minutes back in 2011. Her capacity is, relatively speaking, prodigious. Eleven pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes? Pound for pound, that would be like Joey Chestnut eating 24 pounds!

Sonya Thomas is currently ranked the #7 competitive eater in the world. 

Next up: Takeru Kobayashi