Patrick Bertoletti took over as the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion on Thursday after eating 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes, while Miki Sudo continued her reign as the women’s champion with a new world record of 51 hot dogs eaten during the same timeframe.
This contest has become an American tradition, with Nathan’s Famous Inc. hosting it nearly every year on the Fourth of July since 1972.
Bertoletti got off to a slow start before picking up the pace in the back half of the competition, finishing with a total of 58 hot dogs and buns eaten to claim his first-ever victory in the contest, per Sports Illustrated.
Geoffrey Esper claimed second place with 53 hot dogs and buns, while James Webb came in third place with a score of 52.
Shortly after claiming the victory, Bertoletti said that he had come into the contest knowing that he “wasn’t going to stop eating until the job was done,” per USA Today.
While Bertoletti had to bounce back from a slow start in the men’s competition, Sudo took an early lead and never looked back as she dominated her peers in the 10-minute timeframe.
Sudo finished the competition with 57 total hot dogs and buns eaten, while Mayoi Ebihara came in a distant second place with a score of 37.
Michelle Lesco claimed third place in the women’s contest, managing to eat 23.75 hot dogs and buns.
Sudo, who has now won 10 of these contests, said while holding the pink championship belt that she is “just happy to call this mine for another year,” according to The Associated Press.
This final score of 51 hot dogs and buns set a record for the women’s contest, which was previously held by Sudo after she ate 48.5 hot dogs in the 2020 competition.
One notable absence from the men’s contest this year was reigning champion Joey Chestnut, who was banned from the competition due to signing a new contract with a vegan food brand, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Chestnut is one of the most dominant forces of all time in Major League Eating history, having won 16 of the previous 17 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contests and holding various competitive eating records.
Although Chestnut was not eligible to participate in this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, he did take part in another hot dog eating contest against four U.S. Army soldiers at the Fort Bliss base in El Paso.
Chestnut devoured 57 hot dogs in just five minutes, while the four soldiers combined for just 49 hot dogs, raising a total of $106,000 for charity that will be donated to military families.
“Hot dogs on the Fourth of July in front of people who are celebrating America — it doesn’t get any better than this,” he said after the win, as reported by CNN.
Chestnut’s next major competition is expected to be a one-on-one hot dog eating contest against former rival Takeru Kobayashi over Labor Day Weekend. As reported by DX, the event is scheduled to take place on September 2 and be streamed on Netflix for those looking to watch.