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4 COURIER LIFE, JULY 9-15, 2021
76 DOGS HAVE
Chestnut sets record at reimagined
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
BY JESSICA PARKS
Gulping down 76 hot dogs
in ten minutes, Indiana’s Joey
Chestnut took home his 14th
mustard belt this July 4 —
while breaking his 2020 world
record by a single hot dog.
“I feel pretty good,” Chestnut
told reporters after his
win. “I’m bloated. I’m sweaty. I
just want to lay down and have
some water.”
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating
Contest, a beloved tradition
held each Fourth of July
in Coney Island, took place in
front of a live audience this
year after it was relocated in
2020 to a private location to
avoid large crowds amid the
coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s bonanza of beef
was held at Maimonides Park,
formerly MCU Park, in an effort
to limit the event to the
stadium’s capacity of 7,000, as
opposed to the contest’s typical
showing in front of Nathan’s
fl agship location on Surf Avenue
which in previous years
has drawn over 20,000 people.
Chestnut blew his competitors
out of the water, taking
an insurmountable lead in the
fi rst fi ve minutes while eating
two hot dogs at a time — and
broke Takeru Kobayashi’s record
of 50 hot dogs in six minutes
in just fi ve minutes and 20
seconds.
The world’s number one
hot dog eater was in a competition
against his record more
than any challengers on the
stage, it seemed, as Chestnut’s
longtime rival Kobayashi did
not compete this year, giving
him a strong advantage over
the other contestants.
“I had a pretty good idea I
could do it,” Chestnut said of
breaking his record. “I just
had to stay calm, not panic
when things got a little bit
rough and just make my body
work for me.”
While Chestnut won with
76 hot dogs and buns, Geoffrey
Esper took second place with
50 hot dogs and buns. Fellow
opponent Nick Wehry ate 44
hot dogs and buns, coming in
third place. Wehry is expecting
a child with Miki Sudo, a
seven-time winner of the contest’s
women’s competition
who did not compete this year
due to her pregnancy.
The women’s competition
was much closer, with a new
winner crowned the category’s
franks-eating champion.
COMING IN HOT: (Clockwise from top) Michelle Lesco gave a theatrical
performance dancing and jumping to get her food down. Joey Chestnut
wolfed down 76 hot dogs in ten minutes — eating two hot dogs at a time
for the fi rst half of the competition. Mayor Bill de Blasio. Kids and adults
alike enjoyed the live return of the annual frankfurter frenzy.
Photos by Dean Moses and Corazon Aguirre
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