Amazing Race contestant and competitive eater Tim Janus dies aged 49

Former competitive eater Tim Janus has passed away at the age of 49 following a long battle with cancer, it has been confirmed.

Best known as 'Eater X', the former food champion had a 12-year career as a professional eater from 2006 to 2018, which saw him briefly ranked behind iconic hot dog eater Joey Chestnut in the world rankings.

Janus also competed alongside Chestnut on the American reality series The Amazing Race in 2018 and had recently been accepted into the United States Foreign Service.

However, his plans to serve his country were impacted by his illness, and on 16 September, it was confirmed that he had sadly passed away due to complications from his long battle with cancer.

Major League Eating wrote: "Janus possessed a highly distinctive view of life and an appetite for the unusual that extended well beyond the competitive eating table. He sought out experiences with an almost deliberate disregard for the conventional.

"Among other adventures, he tracked crocodiles and snakes in the wild in Australia, milked a cow, and appeared as a television weatherman on an evening news broadcast. He was a talented whistler, with an eclectic repertoire ranging from Neil Diamond to the Hartford Whalers fight song, in his opinion the best team song ever.

"Away from the table, friends knew someone considerably more complicated than the character. Janus was intelligent, restless, funny and relentlessly interested in the world around him. His interests could be unconventional, but his enthusiasm for them was genuine. He had little concern for whether the things that fascinated him were things that were supposed to fascinate him."

Janus with legendary eater Joey Chestnut on the Amazing Race (CBS)

Crazy Legs Conti, Janus’s former roommate and a former world oyster-eating champion added: “Tim followed his own passions and dreams without regard for the pressures or expectations of society.

“He was unique, brilliant and beloved by his friends. He lived his life on his own terms.”

When he was inducted into the Major League Eating Hall of Fame, Janus 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.”

More to follow.