US: Competitive eating champion wins record 15th title; eats 63 hot dogs in 10 mins

Competitive eater, Joey Chestnut gobbled his way to a 15th win on Monday at the annual Fourth of July Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in New York in the US, powering down 63 hot dogs and buns at the annual exhibition. It was his seventh consecutive victory. Though Chestnut won on Monday he fell way short of the record he set in 2020 when he downed 76 hot dogs, buns included, also in just 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, the women’s record-holder Miki Sudo downed 40 hot dogs and buns to win the women’s title after skipping last year’s Frank Fest because she was pregnant. Monday also marked the contest’s return to its traditional location outside Nathan’s flagship shop in Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighbourhood. The event was relocated in 2020 and last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Joey chestnut's 15th feat at Nathan’s hot dog eating contest

Speaking to ESPN, Joey said, “It’s beautiful to be back here” in front of spectators. The 38-year-old was wearing a surgical boot because of a leg injury. “It hurts, but I was in the zone for a little bit. I was ignoring it,” said Chestnut, but the pain eventually slowed his pace in the 10-minute competition.

Moreover, last year, the Westfield, Indiana, resident topped his own record by consuming 76 franks and buns. Sudo, of Tampa, Florida, set the women’s record at 48 and a half weiners and buns in 2020, before taking last year off while expecting. She and Nick Wehry – a fellow competitive eater whom she met through Nathan’s contest in 2018 – welcomed son Max on 8 July 2021.

“I want to set an example,” she said, “to do things that you love and push yourself to your absolute limits and, when things get difficult, to still give it a try", as per ESPN.

(Image: Unsplash)