Buffalo man in Nathan’s hot dog eating contest to challenge Joey Chestnut

A Nathan's employee arranges 76 hot dogs on a plate at a weigh-in before the Nathan's Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest, Friday, July 1, 2022, in New York. World champion Joey Chestnut is seeking to set a new record this year after eating a record 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes last year. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
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A Western New York man is set to challenge hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut in the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Championship.

WIVB reports Ronnie Hartman, an Army veteran from Buffalo, will compete in the food eating contest on Monday, July 4. The competition will take place at Nathan’s flagship restaurant on Coney Island for the first time since 2019, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced changes the last two years.

Hartman, 33, first decided to enter the competition in 2013 when he was serving in Afghanistan as a US Army Specialist. He ate 16 hot dogs and buns in the Atlanta qualifier that year, 23 and a half in New Jersey, and then 22 at the championship.

By comparison, Chestnut set a new world record last year, eating 76 hot dogs and buns in just 10 minutes.

Joey Chestnut, center, competes in the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island's Maimonides Park on Sunday, July 4, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)

According to Major League Eating, Hartman also competed in the Taste of DC Ben’s Chili Bowl Military Round in 2013, eating half a gallon of chili in one minute, 34 seconds for the win. The 225-pound hungry man says he’s next training to become a professional wrestler.

RELATED: 2022 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest odds and predictions: Can Joey Chestnut break last year’s world record?

The Nathan’s Famous 4th of July of July hot dog-eating contest will be broadcast on ESPN this Independence Day, Monday, at 10:45 a.m. The event will begin with the women’s competition, featuring Miki Sudo and last year’s winner, Michelle Lesco.

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