Utah man wins eggnog chugging contest, then hospitalized

LEHI, Utah -- Utah resident Ryan Roche considers himself to be pretty competitive. But it was that competitive streak that landed him in the hospital.

Roche, 33, spent a day in the intensive care unit and two more days recovering at the hospital, after chugging a quart of eggnog as part of an office holiday party contest.

"I just decided I was going to win. So I pretty much just opened it up and poured it down my throat," he told ABC News.

His colleagues talked him into participating just as he was leaving the party earlier this month. He beat the previous record of 22 seconds by more than half, which won him bragging rights and a $50 gift certificate to Ruth's Chris Steak House.

"Two hours later, I was laying on the couch, shaking uncontrollably, nauseous, having fevers and panting," said Roche, who works in sales.

Roche's friend rushed him to the hospital, where the doctor said the alcohol-free eggnog may have gone down the wrong way, crept into his windpipe and triggered pneumonia.

Though he's recovered since, the jokes haven't stopped at work.

"People are emailing me pictures of eggnog ... it never gets old," he said. "I'm pretty competitive but, unfortunately, in this situation it got the best of me. But it's become quite the story."