Tim Janus, an eating competition staple known as Eater X, has died at the age of 49 after a battle with cancer. Janus, who competed with Joey Chestnut on The Amazing Race Season 30, rose through the ranks of competitive eating and was at one point the second-best in the world, behind Chestnut. Janus was known for competing with a Viking mask painted onto his face.
Janus died on September 16 due to complications from his illness. His death was confirmed by his publicist to Major League Eating. The statement says he fought a “long battle with cancer.” Janus had recently been accepted into the United States Foreign Service and received an assignment abroad, but his illness interrupted his plans.
Janus was inducted into the Major League Eating Hall of Fame in 2026. At the time, he said, “I tell people that I learned a lot about life by eating hot dogs, and I mean it. If you care about something and work hard at it, it makes you better.”
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“Tim followed his own passions and dreams without regard for the pressures or expectations of society,” Crazy Legs Conti, Janus’s former roommate and a former world oyster-eating champion, said in a statement. “He was unique, brilliant, and beloved by his friends. He lived his life on his own terms.”
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