NEW YORK — Nathan’s Famous Annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest will see a host of competitive eaters devour as many sausages as they can in New York City on Thursday – but this year, the event’s biggest star will be chowing down 2,000 miles away.
Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, who has won 16 of the previous 17 competitions, has not participated in the competition in a while sponsorship dispute. Instead, he will compete against soldiers at a U.S. Army base in El Paso later in the day.
That leaves the traditional Brooklyn event open to a new winner, with eaters from around the world competing on American Independence Day to see how many hot dogs they can eat in 10 minutes.
Thousands of fans gather every year for the event held outside the original Nathan’s location in Brooklyn’s Coney Island, a seaside destination with amusement parks and a summer carnival culture. ESPN will broadcast the contest live, beginning with the women’s division at 11 a.m. ET, while the men’s division will begin at approximately 12:20 p.m.
Competitors come from more than a dozen states and five continents, with prospects from Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic vying for the coveted title and a $10,000 cash prize.
“There will be a new champion,” Australian James Webb, who holds the world record for eating 70 donuts in eight minutes, said at a pre-launch event in New York on Wednesday.
Last year brunette, from Indiana, paved the way for the title by slaughtering 62 dogs and buns in 10 minutes. The record, which he set in 2021, is 76.
Before the event, ESPN said it would focus on two Americans with dedicated cameras: Massachusetts high school teacher Geoffrey Esper in the men’s division and Florida dental hygiene student Miki Sudo in the women’s division.
Esper was second last year with 49 dogs and buns, although her personal best is 51. Sudo won her ninth title in 2023 with 39 1/2, but her best is 48 1/2, the women’s world record.
“I’m going to try hard,” Sudo said Wednesday. Her rival Mayoi Ebihara of Japan said through a translator that she would eat until she passed out, aiming to swallow 50 hot dogs.
The chestnut was initially uninvited of the event through a sponsorship agreement with Impossible Foods, a company specializing in plant-based meat substitutes.
Major League Eating, which organizes the Nathan’s Famous contest, has since said it has rolled back the ban, but Chestnut decided to spend the holiday with the troops anyway.
Chestnut said he would not return to the Coney Island pageant without apologizing.
The event at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, will use traditional franchises, with Chestnut attempting to eat four soldiers in five minutes.
Even though he doesn’t eat their vegan products, Impossible Foods is live-streaming the exhibit on YouTube of Chestnut flying banner planes over Los Angeles and Miami. The company will also make a donation to an organization supporting military families based on the number of hot dogs consumed at the event, a spokesperson said.
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