World Champion Joey Chestnut during the weigh-in ceremony ahead of 2023 Nathan鈥檚 Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island Brooklyn in New York City, U.S., July 3, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Reigning champion of the annual U.S. Fourth of July hot dog eating contest Joey Chestnut defended his title on Tuesday, clinching his 16th career win by scarfing down 62 franks in 10 minutes.
A thunderstorm delay at the scene of Nathan鈥檚 Famous Hot Dog Eating contest at New York City鈥檚 Coney Island did not seem to faze Chestnut, 39, who hails from Indiana.
The second place men鈥檚 finisher, Geoff Esper of Oxford, Massachusetts, was far behind with 49 hot dogs consumed.
Chestnut fell short of besting his world record 鈥� 76 hot dogs 鈥� which he achieved in 2021. But he said he planned to push his body to new limits in the future.
鈥淭oday things got in the way, but I鈥檒l be coming back,鈥� he told ESPN.
Earlier in the day New York City native Miki Sudo won the women鈥檚 competition for the ninth time by eating 39.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes. She set the women鈥檚 world record in 2020 with 48.5 hot dogs.
The traditional 10-minute contest, a carnival-like spectacle broadcasted on ESPN, began in 1980 when the winning dog-eaters tied with nine franks. Chestnut, by comparison, typically eats nine hot dogs in less than a minute.