Joey Chestnut, left, and Miki Sudo pose with 63 and 40 sausages respectively after winning the Fourth of July popular hot dog eating contest at Coney Island on Monday.
Julia Nikhinson / AP
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Julia Nikhinson / AP
Joey Chestnut, left, and Miki Sudo pose with 63 and 40 sausages respectively after winning the Fourth of July popular hot dog eating contest at Coney Island on Monday.
Julia Nikhinson / AP
NEW YORK – Frankfurter-munching phenom Joey “Jaws” Chestnut gobbled up his 15th win Monday at Nathan’s famous 4th of July hot dog eating contest, knocking out 63 sausages and buns at the show annual.
In the decisive comeback, female record holder Miki Sudo knocked out 40 winners and claimed the women’s title after skipping last year’s frank festival because she was pregnant.
Monday also marked a return to the contest’s traditional venue outside of Nathan’s flagship store in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn. The event was rescheduled for 2020 and last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chestnut told ESPN: “It’s great to be back here” in front of a large audience after his feat, the 38-year-old managed to wear surgical shoes because of a leg injury.
“It hurt, but I was in this area a little bit. I ignored it,” Chestnut said, but the pain eventually slowed his pace for 10 minutes.
Last year, the resident of Westfield, Indiana, topped his own record for consuming 76 frank and cake.
Sudo, of Tampa, Florida, set a women’s record at 48 and a half and a bagel in 2020, before taking off last year in anticipation. She and Nick Wehry – a competition eater she met through Nathan’s in 2018 – welcomed son Max on July 8, 2021.
From his father’s arms, the baby watched his 36-year-old mother lift her eighth win over Nathan. She later told ESPN that she hoped he would one day pull out of that message.
“I want to set an example,” she says, “doing the things that you love and pushing yourself to your absolute limits and when things get tough, give it a try. And, you know, you have can really come to victory.”
Sudo then takes on parenting duties while Wehry tries for the male title.
Along with this spectacle, Nathan’s donated 100,000 francs to the Food Bank for New York City.