Famed aggressive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut reclaimed his title Friday on the Nathan’s Well-known Fourth of July scorching canine consuming contest after skipping last year’s gastronomic battle in New York for the coveted Mustard Belt.
Chestnut, 41, consumed 70 1/2 scorching canines and buns in 10 minutes, falling wanting his 2021 file of 76 wieners and buns. It marked the seventeenth win in 20 appearances for the Westfield, Indiana, eater on the internationally televised competitors, which he missed final 12 months over a contract dispute.
“I want I ate a pair extra. Sorry guys,” a smiling Chestnut instructed the gang, many chanting his title. “I’ll be again subsequent 12 months.”
Defending champion within the ladies’s division, Miki Sudo of Tampa, Florida, gained her eleventh title, downing 33 canines, besting a dozen opponents. Final 12 months, she ate a file 51 hyperlinks. She additionally was apologetic for her efficiency.
“I really feel like I let the followers down slightly bit. I heard folks within the crowd saying, ‘Go for 52,’” Sudo instructed ESPN. “Clearly, I’m at all times setting my objectives excessive, however the scorching canines weren’t cooperating. For some motive, the buns felt bigger immediately.”
A big crowd, peppered with foam scorching canine hats, turned out to witness the annual eat-a-thon, held outdoors the unique Nathan’s Well-known restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn, since 1972. Many followers confirmed as much as see Chestnut’s much-awaited return to an occasion he has referred to as “a cherished custom, a celebration of American tradition, and an enormous a part of my life.”
Chestnut bested 14 fellow opponents from throughout the U.S. and the world, together with Australia, the Czech Republic, Ontario, England and Brazil. Final 12 months’s winner, Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago, got here in second place after gobbling up 46 1/2 scorching canines and buns, falling wanting the 58 he ate to earn the 2024 males’s title.
“I really like being right here,” Chestnut instructed ESPN after his win. “As quickly as I discovered I used to be coming, my physique — it was straightforward to coach. I really like doing it. And love pushing myself and beating the heck out of individuals.”
Final 12 months, Major League Eating occasion organizer George Shea stated Chestnut wouldn’t be taking part within the contest resulting from a contract dispute. Chestnut had struck a cope with a competing model, the plant-based meat firm Unattainable Meals.
Chestnut instructed The Related Press final month that he had by no means appeared in any commercials for the corporate’s vegan scorching canines and that Nathan’s is the one scorching canine firm he has labored with. However Chestnut acknowledged he “ought to have made that extra clear with Nathan’s.”
Final 12 months, Chestnut ate 57 canines — in solely 5 minutes — in an exhibition with troopers, at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. He stated that occasion was “wonderful” and that he was happy to nonetheless have an opportunity to eat scorching canines — lots of them — on July Fourth.
“I’m completely happy I did that, however I’m actually completely happy to be again at Coney Island,” he stated.
