One contestant won her 15th consecutive contest and another regained her title as a female diner with the best ranking in the world during Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Monday.
Joey Chestnut, 38, known as “Jaws” and who holds 50 world records in food competitions, finished first after swallowing 63 hot dogs.
Miki Sudo, the world’s No. 1 diner who entered the women’s contest last year because she was pregnant, was the first to have slaughtered 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes. He beat Michelle Lesco, 38, who won in 2021.
“What better place to get the title back?” Mrs. Sudo said from the stage after the competition, while holding her son, Max. “This has been an incredible return.”
The contest, which has been held in alternative venues for the past two years due to the pandemic, returned to Surf and Stillwell Avenues on Coney Island, a place as well known as “the parquet floor of Boston Garden,” Rich said. Shea, President of Major. League Eating, on ESPN, which aired the competition.
The return of the contest to Coney Island attracted thousands of spectators who gathered at Nathan’s original location to watch the competition.
Spectators wore signs that said “Don’t Vomit” and “Tastes Like Freedom” and others wore hot dog costumes while cheering on the canteens, which came from all over the country, as well as from Australia and the UK to compete.
George Shea, the contest host and founder of Major League Eating, hailed the competition as “a battle of the Titans, the first gods,” while a choir of singers in white robes sang behind them.
“We’re back,” he shouted. “We’re back, Brooklyn!”
Kristen Thomlan, 31, traveled three hours from Coventry, Rhode Island the night before to see in person her first Nathan competition.
“I wanted to see a legend and maybe see a broken world record,” Ms. Thomlan referring to Mr. Chestnut.
Ms. Sudo, who competed with an injured wrist, did not break her personal record of 48.5 hot dogs, but remained well ahead of the other 12 challengers during the contest. By the middle of the event, she had eaten more than 20 hot dogs, while the next competitor had only eaten 16 of them.
At the last minute, Mrs. Sudo was the clear winner, after receiving 40 hot dogs. This caused Mrs. Lesco to compete for second place against Sarah Rodriguez, 35, a bodybuilder from Seattle, Wash.
Mrs. Lesco, who ate 26 hot dogs, came in second. Mrs. Rodriguez finished third with 23.25 hot dogs.
After the women’s competition, the workers cleaned the remaining hot dogs from the long table and placed glasses of fresh water for the men’s round.
Mr Chestnut, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 230 pounds and competed with an injured leg, said he prepared for the competition by following a liquid diet.
“Lemon juice, water, just a little protein,” he told ESPN Sunday. “I’ll be happy and hungry.”
The crowd chanted “Joey! Joey!” since Mr. Chestnut defeated 15 more men, including a war veteran who fought in Afghanistan, a Chicago man who once ate 275 jalapeños in 8 minutes, and Nick Wehry, Mrs.’s fiancé. Sudo and a diet coach from Tampa, Florida, who endured. year finished 50 hard-boiled eggs in 3 minutes and four seconds.
After the competition, Mr. Castanyer appeared exhausted, sweating and grimacing.
“It was a crazy contest,” he said from the stage.
Mr. Chestnut, who has a personal record of 78 hot dogs, has set other startling records – including 32 Big Macs in 38 minutes, 82 tacos in eight minutes and 5.9 pounds of funnel pie in ten minutes.
The maximum number of hot dogs a human can consume in 10 minutes is 83, according to a study published in 2020 that was based on 39-year-old data from the contest.
The annual hot dog food contest has been held every year since 1916.
In 2020, the American show was held in a secret location and only open to the media to help curb the spread of Covid-19. Last year, spectators were welcomed again, but the event was purchased and held at Maimonides Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, to also limit the number of attendees.
On Monday, Luis and Yolenny Colon from Brooklyn came with their 2-year-old daughter, Jolene, and their French bulldog, Bella, to watch the contest.
They said they were a little disappointed that Mr. Castanyera did not break her record, but they were delighted that her son could witness the contest at its traditional location.
“We wanted you to experience something so iconic,” Mr. Colon, 38 years old. “That’s history.”