Just one morsel more earns man R35 000

Each man gobbled up 44 pork rolls in 10 minutes, but it was the last bite that earned one of the $2 000 (nearly R35 000) top prize in the very American pastime of competitive eating.

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The winner, Geoffrey Esper, ate just a bit more of roll number 45 than his closest competitor, sealing his triumph in the sport called Major League Eating.

The runner-up, James Webb, said in most of the contests this year the winner down to the fourth place finisher were separated by "a swallow or a mouthful or a serving size".

The 35-year-old Australian who moved to the United States to compete full-time added: "It's very competitive." The prize money is nowhere near enough to live on, says Webb, who gets by with help from sponsors and his YouTube channel, which has 115 000 viewers.