The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is set to take place on July 4 in Coney Island, New York. Joey Chestnut, a 42-year-old competitive eater, will look to win his 18th title in the contest. Chestnut has won 17 of the 20 contests he has competed in and is the favorite to win again this year.
The Contest
The contest will feature a women’s competition, which will be shown on the ESPN app, and a men’s competition, which will be shown on ESPN2 and ABC. The women’s contest will start at 10:45 a.m. ET, and the men’s contest will start at 12 p.m. ET. Both contests will be streamed on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
Competitors in the contest must be under contract with Major League Eating and make it to Coney Island through regional qualifying events around the country. The hot dog and bun can be consumed separately, and contestants can dunk the bun in water to make it easier to swallow. Partially consumed hot dogs are tallied in eighths, and hot dogs that are in the mouth when time runs out do count as long as they are subsequently fully consumed.
The Favorites
Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo are the heavily favored top dogs in the contest. Chestnut’s top opponent will be Patrick Bertoletti, who won the contest during Chestnut’s absence in 2024 and finished as last year’s runner-up. Sudo will face competition from Michelle Lesco, last year’s runner-up, who downed just under 23 hot dogs.
Chestnut has won 17 of the 20 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests he has competed in and is looking to break his own record of 76 hot dogs set in 2021. Sudo holds the women’s record of 51 hot dogs, which she set in 2024.
Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.
