Joey Chestnut shakes off rain delay and defends title at Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog contest
Joey Chestnut successfully defends his title at the Nathan's Fourth of July hot dog contest, despite a rain delay.
Eating sensation Joey "Jaws" Chestnut overcame a rain delay and conquered the competition at the illustrious Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest. Astoundingly, Chestnut devoured an astonishing 62 franks and buns within a mere 10 minutes, solidifying his 16th championship title. The event, which featured 15 competitive eaters from around the globe, witnessed Chestnut outperforming his closest rival, Geoffrey Esper of Oxford, Massachusetts, by a double-digit margin. Esper managed to ingest 49 hot dogs and buns, an impressive feat in itself.
Meanwhile, in the women's division, defending champion Miki Sudo demonstrated her prowess by consuming 39 1/2 hot dogs and buns, securing her ninth coveted Mustard Belt. However, before the men's competition could commence, inclement weather swept over Coney Island in New York City, causing a two-hour delay.
.jpeg "At Nathan’s Hot-Dog Eating Contest, Champion Regains His Title") |
| Nathan's Famous, host of the annual July 4 hot-dog eating contest, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. WSJ's Jeff Bush takes a trip to the original Coney Island location to explore the humble history of the popular sausage on a bun. Photo: Jeff Bush |
The roller coaster of emotions during the rain delay left Chestnut wondering if the contest would proceed at all. Hailing from Westfield, Indiana, the 39-year-old eating maestro has been participating in the Nathan's hot dog eating contest since 2005 and has remained undefeated since 2015. Although his personal best of 76 hot dogs, achieved in 2021, was unattainable due to the weather disruption, Chestnut expressed solidarity with his fellow competitors, acknowledging that the adverse conditions affected everyone's performance.
In the women's event, the competition between Miki Sudo and Mayoi Ebihara proved to be a nail-biter. Ebihara managed to consume an impressive 33 1/2 hot dogs and buns within the allocated time of 10 minutes. The real-time counter displayed a neck-and-neck battle between the two participants until the final count was announced. Ultimately, a careful count of the plates settled the score, declaring Sudo as the victor.
Despite her triumph, Sudo expressed disappointment in her winning total, falling nine hot dogs short of her personal record. She attributed her slight misstep to the competitive pressure posed by Ebihara, a 27-year-old contender. Sudo, representing Port Richey, Florida, admitted to momentarily getting distracted by her opponent's performance but managed to regain focus and make the necessary adjustments.
