By: Yimo Liu

James Webb is an Australian man who frequently enters eating contests to earn money. He started his career by devouring a 5kg burger that no one has ever finished before, wedges, onions, fries, three cans of soft drinks, and a piece of cheesecake. Someone spotted him and took a video. The next morning, Webb was on TV.

In 2022, Webb was invited to his first eating contest in the USA in which he finished 38 pancakes in an hour. He had broken the Australian record. During Webb’s second contest in Melbourne, just a few weeks later, he ate 17 sausage sizzle sandwiches in 3 minutes, breaking another world record. This time, he received a prize for coming in third place in New York’s famous “Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest” at Coney Island. He finished 47 hotdogs in 10 minutes.

It’s a mind-blowing achievement that Webb could also become a semi-professional soccer player while pursuing his competitive eating career. Just after he was able to play as a semi-professional soccer player, his childhood dream, Webb ended up in the hospital, suffering from a disease.

Webb had gotten Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). This rare disease causes the body’s immune system to attack its nerves. Sometimes, it can make people paralyzed, so that they can’t move their body. Webb woke up unable to move his body, so he needed a ventilator to breathe. The doctors told him he couldn’t ever walk again. “Basically, I went to sleep one night as a professional soccer player and woke up paralyzed,” Webb answered.

Then, Webb suddenly developed cataracts which made him blind. The doctors worked with him and gave him eye surgery. Slowly, Webb’s eyes could see again. He taught himself how to walk and breathe without a ventilator. Soon, Webb was out of the hospital and exercising. His body was fit even though he still ate about 15 kg each day.