Thousands of thrill-seeking foodies gathered in Coney Island on Friday for the return of fan favorite Joey Chestnut to Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, New York City’s beloved, stomach-turning July 4th tradition.
Some of the world’s top competitive eaters — 15 men and 13 women from the U.S., England, Canada, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Australia — competed for the $20,000 cash prize and the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt.
Fan favorite Joey Chestnut — who holds the all-time event record after consuming a whopping 76 hot dogs in 2021 — was, as expected, this year’s big wiener-eating winner, though he didn’t set a new record.
The 41-year-old California-based competitive eater scarfed down a total of 71 hot dogs and buns in his triumphant return to the Nathan’s Famous stage, following a shocking one-year hiatus over a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods — the plant-based brand behind vegan hot dogs, which conflicted with Nathan’s exclusivity rules.
Chestnut consumed about 20 more dogs than the second place eater.
The women’s top prize went to Miki Sudo, the world’s number-one-ranked female competitive eater.
She dominated the competition with a total of 33 hot dogs. Last year, the New York-born eating superstar set the world record in her category after scarfing down 51 hot dogs and buns.
The event, organized by Major League Eating since 1997, remains “the highlight of summer and one of our nation’s greatest holiday traditions,” said Phil McCann, vice president of marketing for Nathan’s Famous.
Rules for the spectacle of gluttony and patriotism are simple: Contestants have 10 minutes to eat as many Nathan’s Famous hot dogs as humanly possible.
Buns are mandatory, condiments are optional and water is highly encouraged. Vomiting, also referred to by MLE as a “reversal of fortune,” is not only gross and painful — it also leads to disqualification.
Organizers say the eating extravaganza brings more than 40,000 spectators to Coney Island every year, while some 2 million viewers tune int to ESPN for an exclusive broadcast.
Since the first recorded competition in 1972, top dogs of the contest have downed a total of 1,509 beef franks — about 330 pounds of meat.
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