Joey Chestnut Eats 62 Hot Dogs, Retains Coney Island Crown
Joey Chestnut didn’t beat his own all-time world record of 68 hot dogs but he did retain his Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest crown at Coney Island on the 4th of July when he chowed down 62 dogs, defeating runner-up Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti by nine of the dogs.
Absent once again from the competition was Takeru Kobayashi who continues to refuse his place at the table due to a contractual dispute.
After the competition Chestnut proclaimed:
“Winning tastes pretty good. I feel great,” and then responded to not beating his old record by noting, “It was hot out here, but that didn’t really affect me.”
The San Jose construction worker walked away with $10,000 for his effort.
The contest also marked a first when Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas chowed down 40 hot dogs as the first female competitor in the Nathan’s contest, Sonya’s previous personal best is 41 franks.
In another turn of events Kobayashi is said to have eaten 69 hots dogs in an unsanctioned event which means the world record, at least on an official record is still 68, while the Nathan’s Famous contest could have been a lot more interesting had he decided to compete.
