Joey Chestnut eats 66 hotdogs in 10 minutes to win Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Joey Chestnut once again became champion by eating 66 hot dogs in just 10 minutes, winning prize money worth around Tk 1.23M
The winners of the 2026 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest have been announced. The traditional competition was held on the occasion of US Independence Day at Coney Island, where Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo claimed the titles once again. In the men’s category, Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs, while in the women’s category, Sudo won by eating 38.75 hot dogs.
The contest took place on Friday local time. This marked Chestnut’s 18th title in the men’s division and Sudo’s record 12th title in the women’s division.
After the competition, Chestnut told the New York Post that being able to eat there on July 4 felt like a dream. He said the atmosphere was extremely lively and that there was no better place in the world.
For his victory, Chestnut received the symbolic “Mustard Yellow Belt” along with a prize of 10,000 US dollars.
In this internationally televised competition, Chestnut has participated 21 times and won the title 18 times. This year, he defeated Patrick Bertoletti by a large margin, as Bertoletti managed to eat 51 hot dogs. However, Chestnut could not break his own world record of eating 76 hot dogs and buns, set in 2021.
Chestnut said he was unable to eat at his usual pace due to the nearly 90-degree Fahrenheit temperature. The heat made him fatigued, so his goal was simply to finish the competition with patience.
Meanwhile, Miki Sudo still holds the women’s world record of eating 51 hot dogs, set in 2021. After the competition, she stood in the gallery and cheered for her husband. In 2021, after setting a world record by eating 50 boiled eggs in just over three minutes, her husband proposed to her.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Sudo said she trusted her own routine and that encouragement from the crowd helped her secure another title.
The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held every year since 1972 in front of Nathan’s Famous flagship restaurant at Coney Island in New York. As one of the major attractions of US Independence Day, the contest enjoys widespread popularity.
Source: NDTV
