By JIM LEARY AND GEORGE FJELD
BRANDON–The seventh annual World Championship Swiss Roll Eating contest held in Brandon on Saturday, July 1, hosted competitors from across the nation. But the outcome was the same as it has been since the inception of the event. World champion Artruro Mendiola once again successfully defended his title and claimed his seventh Little Debbie crown, thereby cementing his legacy as the GOAT. His late entrance into the eating arena gave a few competitors false hope of a victory. Making his entrance, Mendiola intimidated his fellow competitors by ripping off his shirt to reveal an amazing Swiss Roll physique.
The anticipated onslaught of foreign competitors never materialized. Evidently, many of the world’s Swiss Roll eating clubs cautioned their members against participating in the event. As the manager of the Barcelona club stated, “We’ve got great talent on the squad, but we’re just not ready to try to take down Mr. Mendiola quite yet. We will continue with our rigorous training regimen for another year with the hope of supplanting Mr. Mendiola in 2024.”
MENDIOLA’S UNPARALLELED TECHNIQUE clinched him the win. Photo by George Fjeld
There were some national competitors from as far away as Portland, Oregon, and Sommerville, Massachusetts. Competitor Samantha McNally from Somerville gave up a free ticket to the Ed Sheeran concert to attend the competition. She said, “This is the highlight of my year. I’ve been training all year for this. I’m hopeful to take the crown!”
Next year’s contest should be interesting. Planning for the 2024 event is underway and our sponsors are extremely pleased to report that Little Debbie personally will attend the 2024 contest.
We can hardly wait!
