In Nathan’s annual hot dog eating contest, Joey Chestnut actually fell behind 22 hot dogs to 20 before rallying for his seventh straight title with a record 69 hot dogs consumed in 10 minutes. After the win, Chestnut said he was being a little lazy early when he fell behind, but that the crowd and his girlfriend had pushed him forward with encouragement.
Prior to the event, Chestnut was lauded for taking the championship back for America seven years ago. That was an apparent reference to his first championship when he defeated Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi.
Matt “Megatoad” Stonie shot ahead 22 to 20 a few minutes into the contest, but Chestnut regained the lead at 26-25, and by five minutes in he had shot ahead with 41 hot dogs consumed. Chestnut had set a goal of 45 hot dogs in the first five minutes, which he thought would put him over 70 for the entire contest.
While his 69 fell short of his personal goal, it was well beyond what anyone else could conceivably match. Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs when he first took the title in 2007, but the contest last 12 minutes then.
Next year Chestnut should hit another milestone, as he plans to go for his eighth straight title after hitting his 30th birthday.
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