Favorites Joey Chestnut, Miki Sudo win titles in annual Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest
BROOKLYN, NY (WVUE) - Legendary competitive eaters Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo again won the men’s and women’s mustard-yellow championship belts in Monday’s annual Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island’s Maimonides Park.
Oddsmakers from Caesars Sportsbook pegged Chestnut as a prohibitive -3000 favorite in the men’s competition, meaning a winning $3000 wager would return only $100. Bettors could also take the entire men’s field against Chestnut at +1200 (12-1 odds).
But Chestnut, 38, made that a losing proposition yet again, even though his 2022 performance wasn’t among his best. He won the contest for the 15th time in the past 16 years by consuming 63 hot dogs and buns before the 10-minute time limit expired.
Chestnut, from Westfield, Ind., last year set a record by wolfing down 76 hot dogs in the contest. Caesars had set the over/under on Chestnut’s performance today at 76.5 hot dogs eaten, but he fell far short of threatening his 2021 record.
Sudo, of Tampa, Fla., was favored to reclaim the women’s title, with odds of -1800 against the field (+900). Sudo won seven straight women’s titles from 2014-20 before sitting out last year while pregnant.
Defending women’s champion Michelle Lesco ate 30.75 hot dogs last year to claim the title with Sudo absent. Caesars set the over/under for Sudo today at 44.5 hot dogs eaten, compared to just 29.5 for Lesco.
Sudo, 36, wound up finishing 40 hot dogs to reclaim her title on Monday, falling short of her record 48.5 eaten in the 2020 contest.
Chestnut was eating hurt Monday, arriving on crutches with his lower right leg in a cast following a recent accident that strained a tendon in his ankle.
“It hurts, but I was in the zone for a little bit. I was ignoring it,” Chestnut told ESPN.
In conjunction with the spectacle, Nathan’s donates 100,000 franks to the Food Bank for New York City.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.
Copyright 2022 WVUE. All rights reserved.