Nathan's hot dog eating contest: Joey Chestnut wins again; Long Island's Eric 'Badlands' Booker sets lemonade-chugging record
Defending champion Joey Chestnut wins Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island on Tuesday, his 16th win. Credit: Getty Images
Eating superstar Joey "Jaws" Chestnut shook off a rain delay and gobbled his way to another win at Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest.
Chestnut downed 62 franks and buns in 10 minutes for a double-digit victory over his nearest competitor, who ate 49. It was Chestnut's 16th win.
In the women's division, defending champion Miki Sudo forced down 39½ hot dogs and buns to claim her ninth title.
And YouTuber and competitive eater Eric “Badlands” Booker of Selden kept his reigning title in Nathan’s lemonade chugging contest — setting a record of 23.08 seconds — to down a gallon, Allison O'Donnell, a spokesperson for Major League Eating, said late Tuesday afternoon.
Eric "Badlands" Booker takes a break from preparing for the lemonade contest at his Selden home on Sunday. Credit: Jeff Bachner
That record beat Booker's 2022 time of 24 seconds. He couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
The women's hot dog eating contest went off on schedule but stormy weather over Coney Island delayed the other competitions for about two hours.
Eating superstar Chestnut out-ate runner-up Geoffrey Esper and the rest of an international field of 15 competitive eaters by double digits to clinch his 16th title.
Esper, of Oxford, Massachusetts managed to ingest 49 hot dogs and buns.
"What a roller coaster, emotionally," Chestnut said after riding out the rain. The 39-year-old from Westfield, Indiana first competed for the Nathan's title in 2005 and hasn't lost it since 2015.
His best finish was in 2021 when he tallied 76 hot dogs, but Tuesday's weather disruption made a repeat impossible.
"Everybody got messed up," Chestnut said.
Sudo beat Mayoi Ebihara's 33½ hot dogs in 10 minutes in a women's event that appeared to be much closer until the final count was announced. The unofficial real-time counter showed the two leaders tied throughout much of the competition. A final count of plates settled the score.
Sudo, 37, was disappointed in her winning total, which was nine hot dogs short of her all-time high. She said competition from the 27-year-old Ebihara had thrown her off.
"The first couple minutes, I found myself watching her, which I never want to do. I never want to be distracted by the other competitors," Sudo, of Port Richey, Florida said after the competition. "Watching her, I fumbled my hands. I got stuck with a big burp early on but was able to correct."
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