Scots Haggis eating champion vows to set new record

Scottish Sun

5 hours ago

Alastair wants to win ten titles and smash a previous top time
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THE world haggis-scoffing champ has set his sights on bagging 10 titles and smashing a record before he retires.
Alastair Ross, 28, has his eyes set on winning the World Haggis Eating competition at the Birnam Highland Games later this month.
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Alastair has won the title seven times
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He says he can demolish a haggis in less than 44 seconds
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Competitors are set to munch the offal treat at the Birnam Highland Games
The butcher, of Dunkeld, Perthshire, has already bagged eight titles and was considering retirement but instead has decided to push on to hit double figures.
He can demolish an entire 1lb haggis in less than 44 seconds - which is the current world record held by 33-year-old Lee Goodfellow.
Alastair hopes to set a better time and claims the secret to his success is knocking it back with a pint of lager.
He said: 'I am absolutely headstrong in the fact I'm going to smash the record with a pint of lager because no one says it's possible.
'I've won the competition eight times, seven times in a row. It's just a wee claim to fame, I guess. I'll be sad if and when I lose it. But I won't stop until I've reached 10.
'I'm going to smash Lee Goodfellow's world record as God intended, with a beer in my right hand.'
Alastair first witnessed the offal competition when he was a child and began competing in 2016.
Participants must eat a traditional haggis - made from sheep innards, oatmeal, and spices - in as little time as possible.
The existing record was set by a rival who downed water but Alastair is keen on doing it with beer.
He said: 'My official games record stands at low 50s. Unofficially, I've done it in a butcher's shop and I absolutely smashed that record.
'Other competitors drink water because it doesn't fizz up in your stomach. I've done it with water under the 44 seconds. But I think that's too easy.
'The secret to eating the haggis quickly is forget what you're eating and just chew. I usually just cram as much into my mouth as possible and just wash it down with lager.
'It's not for the faint hearted.'
Ross recently took part in an eating challenge to promote Innis and Gunn which saw him put away five helpings of steak and chips.
He joked that competitive eating made him pass too much gas and that he'd have to quit to give his loved ones a break.
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But the comment sparked rumours that he would pull out of the haggis eating championship.
Alastair added: 'It's just a wee claim to fame, I guess. I'll be sad if and when I lose it.'
The winner receives the Willie Robertson trophy, named after a popular local man who previously won the competition.
Birnam Highland Games takes place on August 30.